Final Destination 2
by Jack E. Peace
Summary: My idea of what the second movie will be about. Alex's cousin, Annabel, finds that she has the giftcurse of predicting death. (Status: Complete)
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Only the characters Clear Rivers and Carter Horton don't belong to me. Nor do the references to the first film; that right, you guessed it SPOILERS!!   
Please R&R and enjoy.   
  
NOTE: This story is based off the original ending to "Final Destination". For those of you who don't know the 'original ending' -which is featured on the DVD this is what happened. When Clear got trapped in her car and Alex came to rescue her, the poor hottie got fried to save Clear. Carter and Clear survived and Clear had a child whom she named Alex Jr. Yep, the scene on the beach was edited a lot. So, that's what has happened but I decided to take out the fact that Clear had a kid. So, with your newfound knowledge, enjoy my fic!   
  
  
  
Chapter One   
  
  
Annabel Tomas starred outside the window of the green Sunfire car that had seen better days. Annabel was fourteen and rather tall for her age; her black hair fell down her back and curled at the ends. Her skin was pale and made her blue, almost violet eyes stand out from beneath her black hair.   
Annabel sat beside her brother, whom was one year older, then she. His name was Randy and he was almost the spitting image of their father. Annabel wasn't sure which one of her parents she looked like the most but Randy for definitely looked like their father. Randy's hair was dirty blonde, which fell in bushy tangles atop his head. His eyes were brown and they were brought out by his hair; his skin was tan, since he hung out at the beach a lot. Annabel was more of an inside person, and she knew it; the lack of outside ventures were to thank for her pale skin.   
Beside Randy was his girlfriend of almost a year, Cassandra or Cassie for short. Or, to Annabel, she was Cici due to her last name: Conner. Cassie hated being called Cici, which is one of the reasons Annabel called her Cici. It wasn't like Annabel disliked Cassie, not that much, but Cassie was always around and was almost like a "part of the family". Annabel had taken great pride in being the only girl of the family, out of three older brothers and when Cassie began dating Randy she fit right in with the Tomas family. Annabel's mother, Courtnee Tomas, always held Cassie up as a role model for Annabel. "Why can't you be more like Cassie? She's such a nice girl; she's got lots of friends and makes good grades. Why can't you be more like her?" Her mother would constantly say.   
It wasn't that Annabel was a bad student or lacked in friends but she wasn't popular or an honor student at the high school she attended. Cassie was a cheerleader; Annabel wasn't the cheering type. Cassie came from a wealthy family; Annabel's family was middle-class. The fact that they were middle-class was often left out of the "be more like Cassie" discussions but it wasn't a fact that Annabel overlooked. That was the main reason that Cassie was so popular; her father was mayor of the city that Annabel and her family lived in: Pasadena. Before Cassie and her family moved to Pasadena, they lived in Washington D.C. and her parents were both very rich and respected people. Cassie had been born into wealth, while Annabel had been born into a middle class family. Annabel knew that Cassie's wealth had helped her popularity at Pasadena High School -where Annabel, Randy, Cassie and her second oldest brother attended school. Cassie was always flocked by friends and was always teachers pet.   
Annabel, however, had only one close friend and she sat in the front seat of the car. Annabel's friend was named Sara; Sara was the same age as Annabel, they were born in the same month and always shared their birthday parties, which only including Annabel's brothers and Sara's sister. Sara had black hair which she had streaked red; Sara's hair was not naturally black, she had dyed it herself when she was nine. Sara's mother, Abby, drove the car that everyone was traveling in.   
Annabel, Sara, Randy and Cassie were all headed to Pasadena Airport, which was the smallest airport (as far as Annabel knew) in California. It was Spring Break and they were going to make good use of their off time by heading to Long Island to visit Annabel and Randy's relatives, their aunt and uncle. Cassie and Sara had also been invited; Annabel's aunt had nearly begged Annabel and Randy to bring friends. "It would be wonderful if you both brought friends. The house is so quiet, it would be good to get some noise in here for once." Her aunt had said, a little bit of sadness in her voice. A year ago, their only son -and Annabel and Randy's cousin- Alex had been killed in a freak accident. He was electrocuted in order to save his girlfriend, Clear. Until around five months ago, Clear had visited Alex's parents everyday and lived there for a while. However, Clear had recently admitted herself into a psychiatric ward because she began to believe her mental health was deteriorating as the one-year anniversary of Alex's death began to roll around.   
Both Annabel and Randy were more then happy to bring along a friend because there was almost nothing to do in the town that they would spend their spring break in. Sara's mom had volunteered to drive to four to Pasadena Airport because Annabel and Randy's parents were busy dealing with Annabel's other brothers: Billy and Derek. Derek was two years older then Annabel; Billy was attending a local college. Both Billy and Derek had important ceremony-type-things (Annabel wasn't even sure what they were) so her parents were attending those instead of seeing their youngest children off. Annabel didn't really mind, she wasn't excited about going to Long Island but she also wasn't looking for to spending a few weeks in Pasadena.   
  
The drive to the airport took only around an hour, traffic wasn't too bad. The airport parking lot was nearly covered with cars; there was a large backup in front of them, cars were honking and their drivers were yelling. Airport employees were making their way from car to car, apologizing for the large backup and giving an estimated delay time. When one of the employees stopped at the car, everyone inside hushed and listened to what the woman said to Sara's mother.   
"Hello, thank you for choosing Pasadena Airport. We're sorry about the large delay; the estimated backup time is no more then two hours. We're sorry if this is a difficulty in your flight plans." The employee said.   
"Two hours!" Sara's mother cried. "Of course that's a 'difficulty' in our plans! We're supposed to catch a flight in twenty minutes, what are we supposed to do?" Her mother cried.   
"We're sorry ma'am, this can't be helped." The employee said, she looked distressed by Sara's mother's outburst.   
Annabel rolled down her window and stuck her head out, trying to see what the delay was. Annabel frowned when she couldn't see anything; she groaned as she braced herself on the edge of the windowsill and stretched herself out farther. Annabel was now halfway out of the car; she still couldn't really see anything.   
"Annabel! Be careful; don't do that." Randy said and pulled his sister back inside the car.   
Annabel frowned as she looked at her brother. "I was just fine." She muttered and leaned forward to talk to Sara.   
"I wonder what's going on." Sara muttered as they both listened to her mother yell at the employee some more.   
"Excuse me." Annabel said, looking over at the employee. "Why is there was delay?" She asked.   
"We're not exactly sure, there is a problem with the overhang however but you can be assured our builders will have it fixed." The employee said.   
"In two hours!" Sara's mother yelled. The employee hurriedly moved to another car.   
Annabel sighed and leaned back in her seat; if they were going to have to wait for two hours she was going to take a nap. Annabel hadn't gotten too much sleep last night since Sara had stayed the night; they had stayed up all night watching movies and gossiping.   
Annabel closed her eyes and almost instantly fell asleep.   
  
Annabel felt the car begin to move; she felt the soothing vibrations that the moving car made. However, the vibrations were jumpy and uneven.   
"Stupid car, I knew I should have had it fixed. The engine is acting up again." Sara's mother said as she shifted gears.   
Good, they got the delay fixed, Annabel thought, have I been asleep for two hours? Annabel opened her eyes and looked outside and saw other cars moving and employees headed back inside the building.   
"On the plane, we're sitting together, right Randy." Annabel could hear Cassie say.   
"Yeah." Randy answered. Annabel frowned and shook her head; Cassie was always concerned about being around Randy. She was like a dog, wouldn't leave him for a second.   
"Annie and I are sitting together, right." Sara said, using her friend's most hated nickname.   
"Don't call me that." Annabel spat, almost unaware that it was her who spoke.   
"Yeah, I made it so that everyone would sit by everyone. Happy now?" Randy asked, he had arranged the tickets and flight time so it was up to him to answer their questions.   
"Are we going to be late?" Cassie asked Sara's mother, trying to peer around the seat in front of her to see the digital clock.   
"No, it didn't take two hours after all. Thank goodness you kids aren't going to miss your flight." Sara's mother answered, laughing like there was some large joke that everyone else missed.   
The car drove toward the overhang along with the other cars that had drivers whom had to catch flights. Annabel looked out the window and peered at the car beside them. There was a five-year-old boy sitting in the backseat clutching a stuffed tiger; he met Annabel's gaze and looked at her with the wide-eyed ness of a five-year old. Annabel tried to smile at the boy but couldn't bring herself to do so. Annabel turned away from the child's gaze, a shuddering running down her spine.   
The car entered the over-hang; Cassie and Randy were talking about what they were going to do in Long Island and Sara was saying something to Annabel but Annabel wasn't listening. She had a strong feeling of unease that she couldn't shake; Annabel suddenly became fidgety and extremely uneasy and close to opening to car door and exiting.   
Suddenly the car came to a dead stop; Sara's mother pressed her foot down on the gas and shifted gears. "Damnit! Stupid car!" Sara's mother cried and began bagging the steering wheel.   
The overhang above them began to rumble and make grating noises; Annabel's stomach did a flip as she peered upward, though she was only looking at the car ceiling. "What's that noise?" She whispered, her voice was shaking.   
Everyone else seemed to take notice once Annabel spoke. "I'm not sure." Sara's mother said, she didn't sound as worried as Annabel had.   
Before anyone could say anything else, airport employees and men dressed for construction work ran past the cars that were under the overhang. They were yelling things that were inaudible to those in the car. However, Annabel was sure she knew what they were saying.   
"The overhang's going to collapse." Annabel whispered more to herself then those in the car.   
"We have to go, now! Make the car drive Mrs. Addison." Annabel said, leaning for and speaking to Sara's mother.   
"What's wrong Annabel? I'm trying to make the car move but it just won't. Just a minute." Mrs. Addison said, hardly paying attention to Annabel's pleas.   
"No, Mrs. Addison we have to go now. Make it go!" Annabel cried.  
"Annabel, what's your problem?" Sara said, looking over at her friend.   
"Annabel chill out, what's wrong?" Randy asked.   
Before Annabel could answer or anyone could say anything else there was a large crashing/breaking sound unlike anything Annabel had ever heard before. The overhang had collapsed; the heavy concrete blocks began to rain down on the cars under the overhang.   
Before the blocks hit the car Annabel and the others were, she watched the blocks fall upon other cars, crushing those instead. Several of the blocks hit the car with the five-year-old boy inside, crushing him and his mother.   
The blocks rained down upon the car, hitting the front and the back. One of the blocks killed Sara and her mother instantly; Annabel's legs became crushed and imprisoned under the huge slab. Annabel found herself staring down at the mutilated corpse of her best friend. Sara's head had been split open; her blood covered the slab and leaked onto Annabel's clothes.   
Another slab fell onto the car, hitting the very front and exploding the engine. Annabel, Randy and Cassie were engulfed in flames as another, some what smaller slab fell onto Cassie. The slab crushed her; Annabel could hear the snapping of her bones and felt blood fall onto her. The flames consumed the car and Annabel and her brother were burned to death before the car finally exploded.   



	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two   
  
  
  
Annabel awoke with a start, a scream tight in her throat. Annabel was covered in sweat; her heart was beating fast and felt like it was leaping into her throat.   
She could feel the vibrations of the car moving underneath her; the car was moving, which meant the delay was fixed. However, the vibrations were jumpy and uneven. Annabel began to breath heavily. This is not happening! I'm still dreaming and this isn't real! Annabel thought as she looked around hurriedly.   
"Stupid car, I knew I should have had it fixed. The engine is acting up again." Sara's mother said. Annabel could see her shift gears.   
Annabel looked outside and saw the other cars moving and the employees going back inside the building. No! This is not real! Annabel repeated to herself, her horrifyingly real dream was still replaying itself in her head.   
"On the plane we're sitting together, right Randy?" Cassie asked.   
"Yeah." Randy answered.   
Annabel felt her panic growing; this was just like her dream. But, it was just a dream, it wasn't real!   
"Annie and I are sitting together, right?" Sara asked, using her most hated nickname.   
Annabel felt her heart jump into her throat; she began to breath in short gasps and sweat even more.   
"Yeah, I made it so that everyone would sit by everyone. Happy now?" Randy asked, putting an end to their questions.   
"Are we going to be late?" Cassie asked Sara's mother, Mrs. Addison.   
"No, it didn't take two hours after all. Thank goodness you kids aren't going to miss your flight." Mrs. Addison said and laughed.   
"No." Annabel whispered, close to tears of fright. This could not be happening. Annabel looked out the window and into the next car and saw a five-year-old boy clutching a stuffed tiger. The boy looked back at her, a still expression on his face.   
Annabel unbuckled her seat belt and leaned forward, more like lunged forward, surprising everyone in the car.   
"Annabel, what's your problem?" Randy asked. Everyone looked at the distraught Annabel; her face was even paler then usual and her breathing with short and shallow, filled with fear.   
Annabel spun around. "The problem? I'll tell you the problem: we're all going to die! We have to get out of this car right now!" Annabel screamed.  
"Annabel stop! That's not funny!" Mrs. Addison said.   
"I'm not joking! We have to get out of here! We're all going to die!" Annabel continued to scream. She attempted to reach for the parking break.   
Mrs. Addison grabbed Annabel's wrist. "Stop that right now, that's not funny." Mrs. Addison said.   
Randy pulled his sister backward and tried to calm her down. "Listen to me! We have to get out of here!" Annabel was screaming, she was shaking violently in her brother's arms.   
Randy shot an apologizing look at Mrs. Addison. "Annabel and I will get out and meet you guys at the airport." Randy said, now truly worried about his sister. She wasn't one to joke, especially about death.   
"Walk? Randy, the airport is almost two miles from here, that's why there's a car. You'll never make the flight." Cassie whined.   
"Then we'll get the next one. Cassie, it's fine, it's fine." Randy said reassuringly.  
Cassie frowned; Mrs. Addison unlocked the car door, upset about Annabel's eerie behavior.   
Randy opened the door and helped his sister out of the car; she clung to him, seeming to calm down once she was out of the car.   
Annabel and Randy watched the car drive a few feet and stop; the passenger door opened and Sara stepped out. "I'm gonna make sure she's alright, I'll walk with them." Sara said and walked toward Annabel and Randy.   
"What happened Annabel?" Randy asked, looking down at his sister.   
"I saw it; the overhang, it collapsed." Annabel sobbed; those were the only words audible.   
Before Randy and Sara could calm Annabel any farther, they were comforted by an airport employee.   
She took one look at Annabel then looked up at Randy. "Is everything all right? Why did you exit your car, is everything okay?" The employee asked.   
Before anyone could say anything there was a loud crashing/breaking sound, unlike anything any of them had ever heard before.   
Before their eyes, Annabel, Randy, Sara and the employee witnessed the collapsing of the overhang. There was the loud, eerie sound of twisting metal and muffled screams cut short by the large stone. There was a large explosion as the stone finished falling; everyone turned their faces away from the fire but Annabel could still feel the heat against her skin.   
Sara, Annabel and Randy turned their gazes numbly back to the carnage in front of them. Annabel was trembling; Sara began to cry, knowing that her mother was dead. Randy stood numbly, holding his trembling sister tight.   
The employee's face paled. "Stay right here, don't move!" She commanded and rushed off into the security building. The three survivors were too numb to do anything but stand there; Annabel watched security guard rush past them. Already the wails of sirens could be heard.   
One security guard walked over to Annabel, Randy and Sara and began talking to them and ushering them toward a police car. "We're going to take you the airport all right? To a room where you can be alone all right?" The guard said, he kept repeating "all right" as though they didn't understand.   
Annabel, Sara and Randy slid into the car and rode to the airport in silence, too numb to do anything but stare.   
  
  



	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three   
  
  
  
The soul survivors were hurriedly ushered into the airport; people stared at them, some were aware of the chaos that was happening outside and some were not. However, everyone was aware of the three pale teenagers who were being led by a security guard.   
The guard led them into a back room; chairs were pushed against the wall, the room was all white.   
Annabel collapsed into one of chairs and wouldn't look at the other two. Sara sat across the room and began to cry again, burying her face in her hands, her shoulders rocking. Randy sat beside his sister, still numb to the fact that his girlfriend was dead.   
Sara peered up from her moist hands, her eyes red and her face tear streaked. "Are there any survivors?" She asked Annabel, her voice shaking.   
"How should I know?" Annabel answered, her voice shaking just as much as Sara's was.   
The three sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts, heads bowed.   
Suddenly the door opened; everyone's head jerked upward and turned toward the opened door. A man dressed in an official looking suit entered the room, flanked by two security guards and a woman dressed as a flight attendant.   
"Hello, my name is Joseph Martin, I manage the airport. I know how you all must be feeling right now, but we need to gather any information about this 'incident' that we can. But first, does anyone need any medical care?" The man in the suit asked, looking at the three teenagers.   
They stared numbly at him, not bothering to answer his question. "All right then, we'll begin the questioning. First, let me get your names." Martin said, taking out a clipboard.   
They numbly said their names: Annabel Tomas, Randy Tomas and Sara Addison. "Okay, great, first I'd like to have Miss. Annabel." Martin said and turned to a fresh sheet of paper on the clipboard.   
Annabel stood to her feet and walked over to Martin. "If you'll come this way please." The man said and ushered Annabel away from the others. He shut the door, leaving the other three he had entered with to stay with Randy and Sara.   
  
"All right Annabel, how old are you?" Martin asked. They had gone into another, smaller room then the one that they had been in before.   
"Fourteen."   
"Now, I believe that you reacted to the 'tragedy' before it happened. Why?"   
"I saw it happen, I knew it was going to happen."   
"Explain."   
"I saw it, I saw everything. I saw the car stall under the overhang; I saw the overhang break. I saw Sara and her mother get killed, I saw her! I saw Cassie die and I saw the engine explode. I saw the other cars get crushed by the stones; I saw it all."   
"Now, Annabel, I know you had nothing to do with this but it all sounds pretty far-fetched, if you think about it."   
"You can't think that I had anything to do with this! I tried to tell them but they wouldn't listen and now Cassie and Mrs. Addison are dead. Not to mention those other people."   
Those faceless people, Annabel thought, and those that are not so faceless.   
"Annabel, I know you didn't have anything to do with this. Annabel, do you take any drugs, or drink?"   
"No! I'm not stoned or wasted or crazy or whatever the hell you think I am! I don't know why I saw what I did all right. I don't know why."   
  
Martin and Annabel returned to the larger room and then it was Sara's turn for questioning. Martin led Sara into the same small room and sat down.   
"Sara, how old are you?"   
"Fourteen."   
"Why did you get out of the car?"   
"I wanted to make sure Annabel was okay."   
"Did you believe what she said about the overhang?"   
"No."   
"Then why did you get out of the car?"   
"I told you already, I wanted to make sure she was okay."   
"Do you think Annabel is crazy?"   
"No. I think she is very sane, very sane."   
  
Martin returned Sara, who sat next to her friend instead of away from her. Sara began to cry again and Annabel comforted her while Martin took Randy away for questioning.   
"Randy, how old are you?"   
"Fifteen."   
"Why did you get out of car?"   
"My sister was upset, she was hysterical. She told us to get out of the car. I told Cassie to stay in the car; it's my fault she's dead. I told her to stay in the car."   
  
Half an hour after the questioning, the three were still in the large room. They all sat together now, as though the questioning had made them realize that Annabel wasn't the cause of the collapsing overhang.   
Annabel clung to her brother, seeming a lot younger then she was; she was like a five-year-old child. "I want Mom." Annabel whispered to Randy.   
Sara had stopped crying and was now sitting numbly, letting everything really sink in.   
Soon, Martin came back with hot coffee and chocolate. "I thought you might like this." He said and offered the drinks to the three. The drinks sat untouched on the table in front of them.   
"I have phoned your parents, they should be here soon. Is there anything I can do for you?" Martin asked.  
The survivors shook their heads and Martin once again left them to their thoughts.   
  
Within the hour, Randy and Annabel's parents showed up and Sara's father showed up as well. The door opened and Mr. and Mrs. Tomas rushed in. Annabel ran to her mother and embraced her; she felt closer to her mother, realizing that it could have been her own mother that could have died and not Sara's. Sara ran to her father and began to cry again; her father held his daughter close and tried to sooth her.   
After talking a few minutes with Martin, Annabel and her family were able to leave, as were Sara and her father.   
The drive home to Annabel's house was quite, no one said a word; no one really knew what to say.   
  



	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four   
Two weeks later  
  
  
  
For the past two weeks, Annabel had not left the house, or her room. But today was the funeral of Sara's mother and Annabel was going to attend it, even if her parents didn't think it was a good idea.   
Annabel stood in her room, dressed in a long black dress that belonged to her mother. Annabel had her black hair tied in a bun so that it rested a top her head, exposing her pale neck.   
The funeral was set to start a two o'clock but Annabel wanted to get there a little earlier; it was now one o'clock that was early enough. After bidding her family good-bye, Annabel left the house and headed to the funeral parlor.   
  
At the parlor, everyone else had decided to come early as well. Relatives and friends of the Addisons were gathered together, talking in whispers. Sara or her father were not mixed among the crowd of mourners; Annabel felt out of place among the adults. Some of the mourners she recognized, like Sara's Aunt Evelyn, and some she didn't, but it didn't really matter because she was there to see Sara. However, Sara wasn't here so Annabel's venture was useless, for the time being.   
When it was time for the funeral to begin, Annabel took a seat in the very back, hoping to go unnoticed. There was still no sign of Sara but Annabel guessed that she wouldn't miss her mother's funeral.   
Annabel was right; Sara and her father soon joined the crowd, seating themselves in the front. Annabel moved to stand up and join her friend but the preacher came out and soon the funeral was started. Annabel slowly sat back down, deciding to meet Sara after the funeral.   
  
Once the funeral was over, the mourners began to talk again. Some went up to Sara and her father to tell them how 'sorry they were that Mrs. Addison was dead.' Annabel walked over to Sara, who was rather surprised to see her friend.   
"Hi. I haven't seen you in a while." Sara said, giving her friend and short hug.   
"Yeah, I just wanted to come...." Annabel said, not sure what to say.   
"Did you whole family come?" Sara asked. She and Annabel walked to one side of the room to talk alone.   
Annabel shook her head. "No, just me." She answered.   
Annabel and Sara talked a little while longer until Sara's dad came to get her to talk with some relatives. Sara promised to come to Cassie's funeral, which was later that week.   
Annabel stood by herself, watching her friend disappear into the black crowd. Annabel was turning to leave when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see a boy her age, dressed in black, standing behind her. Annabel barely recognized him as Joshua, a boy she barely saw at school; he was a loner, like her, but didn't have a single friend, as far as Annabel knew.   
"Hi." She said, surprised that Joshua had come to funeral. She wasn't aware that he knew Sara, except for the way she knew him, from school.   
"Hi. I need to talk to you." Joshua said and grabbed Annabel's arm to lead her into a far corner, where they wouldn't be bothered.   
"About what?" Annabel asked when they were away from the others.   
"You saw the overhang collapse before it really happened, didn't you?" Joshua asked.   
Annabel blinked, totally taken aback by Joshua's question. She didn't know how to answer the question, and didn't know if she wanted to answer the question.   
"Look, I know I don't know you very well and you don't know me very well either but, I'm sure you've heard of the Flight 180 air-disaster that happened a year ago." Joshua said, upon seeing Annabel's hesitation.   
Annabel nodded, that was the air-disaster that her cousin had survived, a few weeks before he died in the freak accident.   
"Did you know that one of the survivors predicted that it was going to happen before it exploded?" Joshua asked.   
This statement took Annabel by surprised. Predicted the plane was going to explode? Just like she predicted the collapsing of the overhang. Annabel felt sick, for the past two weeks she had managed to convince herself that the dream she had about the overhang never really happened. Now Joshua was telling her that she might not be the only person that could 'see' death before it happened. "No." Annabel managed to say, her voice shaking.   
"His name was Alex Browning and..." Joshua began again but Annabel wasn't listening to the rest of what Joshua was saying. Alex Browning, that was her cousin; it was too much of a coincidence. But that's all it was, a goddamned coincidence.   
Annabel backed up, she didn't want to here any more of anything Joshua had to say. "I'm sorry, I have to leave." Annabel said, her voice shaking. She turned around and hurried out of the funeral parlor, leaving Joshua surprised about her sudden disappearance.   
  
Joshua left the funeral parlor; now that Annabel was gone he had no reason to stay. He didn't really come to pay his respects to the late Mrs. Addison; he didn't even know Sara or her family, except for seeing her with Annabel at school. However, Joshua knew Annabel, even if she didn't know him very well; two weeks ago, he had discovered that Annabel, Sara and Randy had survived a freak accident at the airport on their way to Long Island. To Joshua, the few survivors of a freak accident reminded him of the air-disaster of Flight 180. A group of Long Island high-school students were going to Paris but seven of them got 'removed' from the plane. Later, it was released that one of the students -Alex Browning- had a vision that the plane was going to explode, which was exactly what had happened. Now, news reports were saying that one of the survivors of the recent accident had had a vision of the collapsing overhang. Joshua had reason to believe it was Annabel, he had figured she would be at the funeral, which is why he had come to talk with her.   
Judging by Annabel's strange reaction to his questions, Joshua felt like his thoughts were justified. He would try to talk to Annabel again at Cassie's funeral, later that week. Joshua overheard Annabel talking to Sara about the funeral; Joshua knew that Cassie was the girlfriend of Annabel's older brother Randy, so there was no doubt that Annabel would be there. All he had to do was wait until the funeral, which was two days from now.   
  
Annabel returned room and went straight to her room. Everything that Joshua had said to her unsettled her; she sat down at her computer and typed in "Premonitions". Lots of "search results" filed the computer screen; Annabel clicked on one website called "Predictions." Some of the stories were "true" others were fiction, like the story of the Greek woman Cassandra who saw her own death before it happened. She also predicted many other things, such as the falling of Troy, but no one believed her. Annabel found it strange that her name was "Cassandra", since that was the full name of the deceased Cassie. A bone-chilling coincidence, nothing more. There was another story about a man whom predicted his wife's death before it happened, no one believed him until she died and then believed him to be her killer. That was true story; Annabel continued reading the stories on the site.   
Another story was that of an author whom wrote a story called "The Titan" about a ship that was supposed to be unsinkable until it sank. Years later the "unsinkable" ship Titanic sank, like the ship in "The Titan". Another was that of a celebrity who was supposed to take a bus to the premiere of her latest movie but had a vision that the bus would crash so instead she walked. Indeed the bus did crash, carrying another co-star of the movie.   
Annabel stayed on the computer, researching the fatal premonitions that proved true, until she fell asleep at the keyboard. In the morning, she was awakened by Randy, telling her that there was someone her to see her.   
Annabel noticed that she still had on the dress she had worn to the funeral, so she paused to change clothes. Then she went downstairs to greet whoever had come to pay a visit to her.   



	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five   
  
  
  
  
Annabel didn't know whether to be surprised about seeing Joshua at the door or unsurprised. Whatever the case, Annabel greeted Joshua and the two went upstairs into her room to talk.   
"Sorry to come by unannounced but there's something I need to ask you." Joshua said when they entered Annabel's room.   
Annabel offered Joshua a seat, which he took, before sitting down herself. "Okay, ask away." She said.   
"You did have a vision of the overhang collapsing didn't you?" Joshua asked, aware that he was asking a question he had asked yesterday but he really needed an answer.   
Annabel thought for a second, about her cousin's premonition as well as the premonitions of other people. "Yes." She finally answered, not making eye contact with Joshua.   
Joshua stared at Annabel, thinking about the answer she had just given him. It was the answer he had wanted to hear but now that he had heard it he didn't know what to say.   
Annabel looked at Joshua, who quickly turned his gaze off her. "There's something else too, Joshua, that I didn't tell you about yesterday." Annabel began. "Alex Browning is my cousin, we were going up to see his parents, that's why we were at the airport." Annabel said, she suddenly felt the desire to confess in Joshua that she was afraid of what had happened to her, afraid and confused. However, Annabel kept her mouth closed but her eyes locked on Joshua.   
"Your cousin?" Joshua repeated, now as confused as Annabel was. Annabel nodded; neither of them said anything for a long period of time. Finally, the silence was broken by Joshua. "I'd better go." He said, standing up.   
Annabel stood as well, walking Joshua back to the front door. The two said their good-byes and Joshua left, leaving Annabel alone in front of her house. Annabel watched Joshua until he disappeared, her mind clouded in thoughts.   
Annabel finally went back inside and once again headed up to her room. There was a knock on her door; Annabel called out a 'come in' and turned to see Randy standing in the foyer.   
"Hey Annabel, can I come in?" He asked, as though he hadn't heard his sister tell him to.   
Annabel nodded and moved to make room on her bed for Randy; Randy sat down beside his sister. "So, are you coming to Cassie's funeral tomorrow?" Randy asked, aware that his sister wasn't too found of his late girlfriend.   
Annabel nodded. "Yeah, if that's all right." Annabel said, wondering why her brother had asked her.   
"Yeah, of course it is." Randy said, standing up again. "I just wanted to make sure." Randy said and left her room.   
Annabel watched her brother walk down the hall, but then stood up and ran to the foyer. "Randy wait." She called.   
Randy turned around to face his sister. "What's wrong?" He asked.   
"You don't think I had anything to do with, with Cassie's death do you?" Annabel asked, unaware of her brother's feelings about her 'vision'.   
Randy shook his head. "No, Annabel, I don't blame you. It's not your fault." Randy said and disappeared into his room.   
Annabel watched him disappear; she knew she should feel comforted by her brother's words that he didn't blame her but there was something in his voice that didn't convince her all the way.   
  
That night, Annabel had a hard time falling asleep. She hadn't gotten much sleep since what had happened but tonight, sleep came a little easier. However, Annabel was plagued with many nightmares; one was especially real. In her dream, it was the next day and everyone was dressed for Cassie's funeral. Sara was there, as she had promised and surprisingly Joshua had shown up as well but there was no sign of Randy. When it was time to view the body in the open casket, Annabel went up and peered into the casket. Instead of Cassie's body in the casket it was Randy's; his face was blue and swollen and his body was covered with bruises and was marked with bizarre partners. It looked as though he had been poisoned; Annabel drew back from the casket in horror. When she told everything that it was Randy's body in the casket, no one believed her; they said that when they looked at the body, it was Cassie's.   
Annabel awoke with a start, once again in a cold sweet, her heart beating in her chest. She looked at her clock: 3 in the morning; Annabel laid her head back onto her pillow but was unable to fall back asleep. The memory of seeing her brother's body lying bruised in the casket was all too real.   
  
  



	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six   
  
  
  
Annabel was still having doubts, or more her stomach was still doing flips every time she thought, about Cassie's funeral. She was once again wearing the black dress that belonged to her mother, as well as black gloves that Randy had insisted that she wore. Instead of just her and Randy attending Cassie's funeral, her whole family had decided to attend; not that that surprised Annabel, she couldn't imagine them missing Cassie's funeral.   
After making sure she was ready, Annabel joined the rest of her family down stairs, smoothing out her dress.   
The car ride to the funeral was silent and seemed to last forever, even though it was no longer then ten minutes. The funeral was being held in a large park outside the Pasadena Capitol Building where Cassie's parents worked.   
Many people were already gathered outside, they looked like a massive black cloud. People from all over town were attending, even if they hadn't even known that the Connors had a daughter. Most of Cassie's friends from school were attending as well; they were all huddled together, crying and talking about the late Cassie's parents. Gathered among the mourners were Cassie's parents; her father had a grave face that showed no emotion but her mother's face was tear streaked and her eyes were red. People that had worked with the Connors were offering some sense of support for her parents but it was really no use.   
Annabel exited the car and walked beside Randy toward the main part of the park where the eulogy would be held, including Cassie's open casket. Annabel left Randy's side as he walked toward some of Cassie's friends; she walked toward a few empty seats. She wasn't halfway to the seats when a black cat bounded out of some nearby bushes and ran in front her; Annabel jumped back without thinking and let out a short gasp. The cat disappeared without looking back.   
Annabel backed right into someone; she turned around to see who it was. It was Joshua, dressed for the funeral, as he had been for Sara's mother's funeral. Annabel wasn't surprised to see Joshua standing there, but she was surprised to have backed into him.   
"Sorry, the cat it just surprised me." Annabel apologized as she turned around to face Joshua.   
"That's all right. Look, I know this seems out of place right now but a black cat crossing someone's path is supposed to mean death for someone in that person's family. It's a death omen." Joshua said.   
"A what?" Annabel asked, feeling chills run down her spine.   
"A death omen; it's something that predicates death. Like the cat predicates death for a member of the person's family." Joshua answered.   
"Oh." Annabel muttered, an eerie feeling set over her. "What are you doing here?" Annabel asked, trying to change the subject.   
"I came to attend Cassie's funeral; my parents are here too, we didn't even know Cassie but they wanted to come. To 'show their support for our town's mayor and his wife' or something like that." Joshua answered.   
Annabel just nodded; she stared at Joshua, unable to shake the eerie feeling that had set over her.   
After a few more minutes of silence, Joshua excused himself and left Annabel alone, she was still lost in thought about what he had told her.   
Annabel walked numbly over to the group of chairs and sat down, still lost in thought. Her train of thought was lost when Sara walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder. Annabel let out a short gasp and turned around.   
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya." Sara apologized and sat down beside her friend.   
"That's all right, I was just thinking that's all. I didn't notice you come up." Annabel muttered, looking over at Sara.   
"Oh. Hey, I noticed you talking with Joshua what's-his-face; what's all that about?" Sara asked, looking back at her friend.   
Annabel looked away from Sara. "Nothing, it was nothing. He just wanted to talk." Annabel answered.   
Sara shrugged and the two friends sat in silence until it was time for the eulogy to begin. They both stood up and walked over to the place where the eulogy would take place; more then hundred chairs were lined up in rows of twenty. There was a wide berth between the casket and the first row of chairs; standing right of Cassie's casket was the priest.   
Annabel didn't see Randy anywhere as she sat down beside Sara; she wondered if he had already seen Cassie's body. Annabel couldn't even picture what Cassie's body would look like, after the car explosion and the concrete slabs.   
Everyone else attending the funeral sat in seats and continued talking amongst themselves; some of Mrs. Conner's friends began to cry and wipe their eyes with wrinkled tissues. It looked, to Annabel, like a scene out of a movie.   
Annabel wasn't surprised when she spotted Joshua; he also spotted her and Sara and made his way over to them, taking a seat beside Annabel. The three of them had little time to say anything other then "hello" before the priest stood at the podium, which was almost directly in front of Cassie's casket. A hush fell over the crowd and all that could be heard were somewhat oppressed sobs from some of the women.   
Annabel looked around for Randy and the rest of her family; her parents and other two brothers were sitting in the second row but Randy was nowhere to be seen.   
The priest began to speak, reciting prays and offering words of comfort but they all fell on deaf ears. Annabel wasn't paying any attention to anything the priest said; she was once again lost in thought.   
Once the priest was finished speaking, it was time for the Viewing; row-by-row people stood up and walked to Cassie's casket, placing roses around it and uttering prayers.   
When it was Annabel, Sara and Joshua's row's turn to view the casket, Annabel lingered in her seat before joining Sara and Joshua in walking toward the casket. As they neared it, Annabel's dream returned to her; where was Randy? It was too much like her dream; Annabel hung back before slowly walking up to the casket.   
Lying in the casket was the body of Cassandra Conner; her face was almost unrecognizable because it was somewhat burned and lots of makeup was applied to keep it from looking too grotesque; her limbs were also somewhat burned and her lower body was horribly crushed.   
Annabel let out a short gasp as she looked at Cassie; she looked just like she would have imagined her looking after the horrible events in her "vision". Joshua rested his hand on Annabel's shoulder and Sara offered her friend a look of condolence as they walked away from Cassie's casket.   
  
After everyone viewed the casket, it was closed and lowered into the nearby grave; everyone standing around the grave was crying, including Cassie's father. Finally, Annabel saw Randy, though she almost immediately wished she hadn't. Randy was a complete wreck, his eyes were red and his face was tear streaked, the look in his eyes was suggesting that he had just had his heart torn out. Annabel couldn't bear to see her brother that sad; she looked away from him.   
After Cassie's casket was lowered and had disappeared, everyone scattered over the funeral site. No one left but everyone seemed to form into groups and talk about other things aside from the funeral.   
Annabel, Sara and Joshua all sat down at one of the tables; the tables were covered with a black silk tablecloth and there was a vase of three blood-red roses on each table. They sat in silence, each lost to their own thoughts that they didn't wish to speak.   
The eerie serenity was broken by Randy who came to join the three of them; Joshua gave up his seat beside Annabel for Randy. Joshua went to sit beside Sara. Randy lowered his head and began to cry; all Annabel could do was sit and watch her brother weep.   
  
  
  
  



	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven   
  
  
  
After the funeral was officially over, everyone began to disappear, scattering like the dried leaves in the autumn wind. Instead of riding home with her family, Annabel decided to walk home with Sara and Joshua, since she didn't live far away.   
They walked side-by-side down the sidewalk, talking about idle things since the three of them didn't want to think too much about Cassie's funeral.   
Once they reached Annabel's house, Sara said good-bye to her best friend and left Annabel and Joshua standing together on the front stoop. They were startled by the sound of a howling dog; the black dog was circling their house, howling.   
Annabel couldn't shake the feeling she got by the dog, the feeling that was too eerie for words. All she and Joshua could do was watch the dog circle the house over and over again, howling like he was being beaten.   
Finally Joshua said, "Do you know that dog?"   
The sound of his voice brought Annabel of a trance like state. "No." She answered, seemingly unaware that she had spoken.   
Suddenly, Annabel turned to Joshua, feeling the need to tell him about her research about premonitions and how she found out that she wasn't the only one that had had visions of death. "Do you want to come in?" She asked, motioning to the house with her head.   
Joshua agreed and they walked into the house, silently; in the kitchen, the sound of Annabel's mother and father talking could be heard but other then that the house was silent.   
Annabel and Joshua walked up to her room and Annabel closed the door. "You know, I was thinking about what you told me at Sara's mother's funeral, about my cousin seeing the place explode before it did. I got on the computer and researched it and he and I weren't the only people who had had a 'vision' of death." Annabel began. She continued telling Joshua everything that she had read, including the fact that her cousin had died in a freak accident a few weeks after the plane exploded.   
Joshua listened to Annabel speak without uttering a word himself; he wasn't sure, however, that he believed everything she said, despite him wanting to believe it.   
Annabel decided to leave the dream about Randy out of everything she told Joshua; once she was finished talking, she looked at Joshua to see what he thought about everything she had said.   
Joshua, however, wasn't even sure what he thought about everything Annabel said so he had no words for her. There was another award silence and Joshua finally said he had to go; for once, Annabel was unhappy about seeing him leave.   
Once Joshua was gone, Annabel wasn't sure what to do. Everyone in her family was given Randy some sort of condolence in their own way but Annabel didn't want to go downstairs and see her brother, she didn't want to see him the way he looked at Cassie's funeral.   
Annabel stayed in her room until it was time for dinner but no one really ate too much. Everyone sat around the table in silence; Annabel picked at her food with her fork but only ate a few bites.   
After everyone seemed assured that there was going to be no eating going on, Annabel's mother cleared the table and asked Annabel to help her wash the dishes. Annabel frowned; her mother only helped her wash the dishes when she wanted to talk about something.   
As Annabel cleared the last of the dishes and the rest of her family left the dinning room, Annabel's mother uttered those words; "I need to talk to you about something."   
Annabel grimaced as she joined her mother at the sink. "Now, Annabel, I need to talk to you about something very serous. And just listen to everything I have to say before you say anything. On the news there's been reports that you had a vision that the…." Annabel's mom began.   
"Oh Jesus Mom." Annabel spat. Annabel, however, was more surprised to hear her mother talk about what had happened then angry; she was also afraid, afraid that now everyone would think she was some sort of a physic or a "freak".   
"Annabel, listen to me. I just want to know if that's true." Her mother shut off the sink water and looked her daughter in the eye. "Is it true?" She asked.   
Annabel didn't speak for several minutes because she didn't know how to answer her mother's question. Finally she said, "I really don't wanna talk about it."   
Annabel started to leave the kitchen. "Annabel!" Her mother called after her but it was no use, Annabel was already halfway up the stairs to her room.   
  
  
  



	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight   
  
  
  
It was midnight when Randy was awakened by the howling of a dog; Randy sighed as he got out of bed to see where the howling dog was. He wasn't upset at the dog for waking him because he had really been sleeping. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Cassie's body lying in her casket.   
Randy walked over to his window and peered outside; there, right under his window, was a large black dog that Randy had never seen before. The dog stopped howling and looked up at Randy; his eyes were dark and void and appeared as though they could see straight through Randy. Randy felt chills run down his spine as he shook that thought from his mind.   
Randy shut his window to drown out the howls of dog but Randy didn't return to bed. Instead he walked out of his room, quietly so not to wake anyone up, and headed downstairs to get a glass of water. As Randy entered the kitchen his noise was greeted by the smell of flowers; however, upon looking around Randy couldn't see any flowers. Maybe the smell was coming from outside, Randy thought as he walked to refrigerator.   
After getting himself a glass of water, Randy walked to one of the "junk draws" and opened it to get a candle. He didn't want to turn on the kitchen light because it was so bright and it might wake someone up.   
He pulled out a candle and a match and carried both back to the kitchen table; he struck the match and lit the candle. There was a brief flicker and the candle began to burn.   
As Randy sat down at the table, sipping absently from his water, the flame on the candle blew out. Randy stared at the candle as white, wispy smoke trailed off from black wick.   
Randy couldn't figure out what had blown the candle out; he looked up at the ceiling fan. The fan was still, the long cords dangled from between the light bulbs.   
Randy sighed and returned to the draw to get another match; he carried the match to the table and struck it. He held the match up to the wick; the wick lit but as quickly as it lit it blew out again. Randy attempted to the light the candle three more times but each time the light blew out as quickly as it lit.   
Sighing, Randy threw the match away and put the candle back in the draw; he would have to turn on the kitchen light and hope no one woke up. He walked over to the light switch and flicked it.   
Nothing happened; Randy continued clicking the switch but the light refused to come on. Randy, now as confused as ever, walked over to the table and climbed atop it to see what the problem was with the light. Maybe the bulbs were burned out; however, they had worked perfectly earlier at dinner.   
Randy peered upward at the bulbs; they seemed fine just by looking at them. Randy began to unscrew one of the bulbs; he didn't notice one of the brass cords that could be used to switch the fan or light on and off without a light switch, had fallen down his back by way of his shirt collar.   
Suddenly the fanlights came on, as did the fan. "Jesus!" Randy cried as the lights momentarily blinded him.   
Randy shielded his eyes as he peered down to see who had clicked the light switch; no one was standing in the foyer or anywhere around the kitchen, the house was silent except for the noise that the fan blades made.   
  
Upstairs, everything was silent; Annabel lay in her bed, not in a deep sleep but at least she was sleeping. A light breeze blew through her room, brushing against her cheek and rustling papers on her computer desk.   
Annabel was startled by a sound that sounded like breaking glass; Annabel opened her eyes and lifted her head from her pillow. There, lying on the ground was a picture, face down and surrounded by shards of glass. The picture was of Annabel and her brothers at the zoo; it was a rather old picture, Annabel was only eight and they were all holding baby animals of some kind. Annabel liked that picture because she didn't have very many pictures of her and her brothers together; it was taken right before Billy "changed" and everything seemed to change with him. The picture had been rested on her dresser along with semi-important objects.   
"Damnit." Annabel muttered as she stepped out of bed to clean up the mess. She would have to get another frame tomorrow. "The wind must have knocked it over." Annabel muttered to herself. She looked over at her window but it was shut and locked. Annabel frowned and looked away from the window.   
She knelt down and gingerly picked up the picture frame from behind; the picture fluttered out of it. Annabel set the broken frame aside and picked up the picture; she turned it over to look at it.   
Annabel gasped as she looked at the picture; in the picture, Randy was standing beside her but instead of looking the way he had when that picture was taken, Randy looked the way he did now. And around his neck was an imprint of what looked like where a cord had wrapped around his neck; the imprint was deep and raw. Annabel looked up at her brother's face and his eyes were black and void like Cassie's eyes had been. Annabel gasped and dropped the picture, standing up and backing away from where the picture had fallen.   
  
Downstairs, Randy was just about to step off the table and turn off the light when he felt something tighten around his neck. The brass cord from the fan was wrapping around his neck, due to the shaking of the fan; Randy reached to pull the cord off his neck but as soon as his fingers touched the cord it got tighter. There was no way the fan could have done that; Randy felt the cord getting tighter. He reached for the cord and attempted to pull the cord off but it grew tighter.   
Randy gasped as the cord began to strangle him; Randy desperately pulled at the cord and gasped for breath. He couched and gasped as he fought to get breath.   
Randy tried as heard as he could to unwrap the cord from around his neck but it was no use, every time he cried the cord got tighter.   
Randy struggled to pull away, as though that would unwrap the cord his neck. Randy's foot slipped off the edge of the table as did his other foot; the cord, however, held him tighter. When he slipped off, the effect was like being hung; Randy let out a small sigh and a gasp as the cord tightened for the last time.   
Randy's body became still and his eyes became dark and void, almost peaceful. The fan blades stopped moving and the lights switched off, leaving Randy's corpse in the darkness.   
  
NOTE: I know that that was the same way Tod in the first one but give me a break, there's only so many ways that someone can die where it looks like suicide and it really wasn't.   



	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine   
  
  
  
Annabel hadn't been able to sleep for the rest of the night but had lain in bed with her eyes closed, attempting to sleep. She was startled into being fully awake by the pained scream of her mother coming from downstairs.   
Without thinking, Annabel leapt out of bed and ran toward the door; she didn't even realize that she had stepped in the pile of broken glass.   
Annabel rushed downstairs; she was aware that Derek and Billy were following close behind her. Annabel leapt off the stairs and ran into the kitchen.   
In the foyer her mother was doubled over with shock and horror; Annabel looked up to see what had caused her mother to scream.   
"Oh Jesus." Annabel whispered and brought her hand to her mouth, instantly feeling sick.   
Hung from the fan was her brother Randy; his body was swollen -he had been dead for a while; wrapped around his neck was the brass fan cord, it had cut a deep, raw red imprint in his skin. His eyes had a dark and void look to them.   
Annabel gagged and reeled backward, she remembered knocking in Billy or Derek before she fell unconscious.   
Annabel slowly opened her eyes and squinted them to shut out the bright light; her head hurt somewhat but it wasn't too bad.   
"Joshua, damnit, shut the light off. God." Annabel could hear someone say, it sounded like Sara but Annabel wasn't sure. Her voice sounded far away, almost unreal.   
There was a click and the light disappeared; Annabel opened her eyes all the way. In her room were Sara and Joshua, Sara was sitting in a chair by her bed and Joshua was standing over by her desk.   
Annabel frowned; she didn't remembered very much of anything except -Oh God, except for seeing Randy in the kitchen.   
"Oh God." Annabel muttered, gagging again and feeling as though she might pass out again.   
"Annabel, are you all right?" Sara asked, although it was clear to see that Annabel wasn't all right.   
Annabel sat up and looked at Sara, then at Joshua. "Oh God." Annabel repeated again, feeling as though she couldn't say anything else.   
However, that wasn't the case. "Randy, he is…what happened?" Annabel said, confusing herself with the words she spoke.   
"Joshua and I were coming over to see you and Billy answered the door and told us everything that happened." Sara answered her friend's question. "Sorry, Annabel." She added, whispering the last two words as though she wasn't supposed to say them.   
Joshua walked over and stood next to Sara. "The coroner said that Randy killed himself." Joshua said.   
Sara punched Joshua in the arm. "Godamnit Joshua! That's just the prefect thing to say right now isn't it? Prefect." Sara snapped.   
Annabel shook her head. "No, no Randy didn't kill himself, he wouldn't do that." Annabel said, looking at Joshua as though he was the one who decided that Randy had killed himself.   
"What else could it have been Annabel?" Sara said, resting her hand on her friend's shoulder. "He wasn't murdered, no one entered the house so that leaves only suicide." Sara added.   
"Randy didn't kill himself." Annabel muttered, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.   
As soon as her feet hit the ground, Annabel let out a cry of pain and redrew up her left foot.   
Annabel looked at her heel and saw shards of glass stuck under the skin; her heel was red and blood had dried around the bits of glass.   
Joshua looked down at Annabel's heel. "Jesus Annabel, what did you do?" He said, instructing Annabel to lay her leg on the bed.   
"The picture frame brook last night, I must have stepped in it." Annabel muttered, biting her lip as she set her foot on the bed.   
"I'll go get the first aid kit or something." Sara muttered and left the room.   
Joshua looked down at Annabel's foot. "God, your foot must hurt like hell." Joshua muttered.   
"No, it doesn't hurt that bad." Annabel lied, trying to sound like it didn't hurt but was failing.   
Annabel leaned forward to get a better look at her foot; when she lifted her head, her head almost collided with Joshua's. "Sorry." Annabel muttered.   
Joshua and Annabel looked at each other; their faces were almost touching.   
"I got the aid-kit-thingy." Sara said, entering the room and surprising both Joshua and Annabel.   
Joshua quickly turned to face Sara; Annabel looked at Joshua and then looked over at Sara, who seemed oblivious to what was "going on" between Joshua and Annabel.   
While Annabel and her friends doctored up her foot, no one spoke and no one wanted to think about Randy and what had happened to him.   
  



	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten   
  
  
  
That night, after all the police -as well as Sara and Joshua- had gone home, Annabel and her family were attempting to have dinner. However, no one was really eating, just staring at each other; there was an occasional sob from Annabel's mother and her mother was almost always wiping away tears from her eyes.   
Annabel moved her food around her plate with her fork; she was dragging her fork around her mashed potatoes.   
Annabel looked up and was aware that both her mother and father were looking at her. "What?" Annabel whispered.   
"Didn't you see it?" Her mother whispered, her voice full of accusation.   
"Courtnee, now…." Annabel's father said but her mother just ignored him.   
"What are you talking about?" Annabel whispered, though she was sure she already knew what her mother was talking about.   
"Didn't you see your brother's death like you saw the overhang?" Her mother said, her voice getting louder every second. "Why didn't you tell Cassie to get out the car too? If you had she would still be alive and your brother wouldn't have killed himself!"   
Annabel felt her jaw drop and her eyes well with tears; her parents blamed her for Randy's death, they even blamed her for Cassie's death.   
"Mom, I didn't have…" Annabel began but her mother cut her off.   
"Why didn't you stop it?" Her mother whispered, tears falling down her cheeks.   
Annabel stood up from the table and walked out of the dinning room and straight up to her room. This was unreal, her parents blamed her for things she had no control over. Annabel began to cry, more out of her own self-pity but also because of the day's events.   
  
Annabel figured she must have cried herself to sleep because when she awoke, it was night outside. Annabel rubbed her eyes and sighed; she sat up and looked around her dark room. She tried not to remember everything that had happened earlier but it was no use. Annabel got out of bed and switched on her desk light; she looked at the clock. It read: 12:12; Annabel sighed again; it looked like tonight would be another sleepless night.   
Annabel walked over to her desk and sat down; she connected to the Internet and typed in "Death Omens", decided to research what Joshua had told her at Cassie's funeral. Maybe there was something about Randy's death that she was missing; something that provided it wasn't suicide.   
After a few minutes a site came up on the screen; Annabel clicked the link and pages and pages of Death Omens came up. Annabel began reading some of them.   
"A black dog howling around a house forebodes death for a member of the household."   
"A black cat crossing in front of you bodes death in your family before the year is out."   
"A picture dropping from a wall or tabletop forebodes death for someone in the household."   
"Expect a death in the family if a dog howls at midnight."   
"If you raise an umbrella in the house, there will be a death in the family."   
"If a deceased relative is heard calling your name, they are warning you of death to come."   
"If entering a house or a room in the house, a person smells flowers and there are no flowers, that person is going to die."   
"The wind blowing out a candle indicates death."   
"To dream of a person's death means that person will die."   
"When a dog looks at you as if he can see though you, you will soon die."   
"When windows rattle with no apparent cause you can expect death."   
"If you think someone called your name and you answer to find that you are mistaken, it is a token of your death."   
Annabel became entranced with the omens, some of them gave her chills, and others seemed somewhat stupid.   
As Annabel re-read the list, she realized that she had had "encounters" with some of the omens. At Cassie's funeral when the black cat ran in front of her: black cats foretell death in the family. Last night when the picture of her and her brothers had fallen off the desk: a fallen picture forebodes death in the household. When she and Joshua had come home after Cassie's funeral and the black dog was howling around the house: a howling black dog bodes death for a member of the household.   
Annabel felt a chill run down her spine as she exited out of the page and signed off the Internet. Even if she were tired, there would for definitely be no sleep for the remainder of the night.   



	11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven   
  
  
  
The next morning, Annabel decided to pay a visit to Joshua. She printed out all the stuff on Death Omens and packed them in her school backpack, which she would need the following week when Spring Break finished, and headed to Joshua's house. Even if she had decided not to go to Joshua's house, she would have wanted to leave her own house anyway, after everything that had happened yesterday.   
Annabel left her neighbor hood and into the main part of the "town" she lived it; it was really just a small part of Pasadena and at times like this, Annabel was happy that she lived in a small place where you could practically walk everywhere.   
As Annabel crossed the street and stepped on the sidewalk in front of a small coffee shop, she ran right into someone exiting the shop. Both she and the person stumbled backward.   
"Oh God, I'm sorry." Annabel said, realizing that she was running into people a lot lately. Annabel looked up to see whom she had run into; it was someone she didn't really recognize but he looked about her age and looked somewhat familiar.   
The boy looked down at her. "That's okay, no harm, no foul." He said.   
Annabel couldn't help but smile at him; he had dusty brown hair and brown eyes to match, his skin was the tan color that skin became after spending too much time at the beach.   
The boy looked down at her as if he suddenly recognized her. "You, you look really familiar." He muttered.  
Annabel didn't know how to answer his question, even though it really wasn't a question.   
The boy shook his head. "Look, I know this is a really weird question and all but- wait, let me introduce myself." The boy said as he motioned to one of the nearby tables, indicating for Annabel to sit.   
Annabel sat down, resting her backpack against her leg; the boy sat across from her.   
"First things first, my name is Nicolas Kennedy. And, if I'm right, you're Annabel Tomas." The boy, Nicolas, said, smiling at Annabel.   
Annabel frowned. "Is there anyone who doesn't know who I am? Let me guess, you saw me on the news as the girl that predicated the overhang collapse, am I right? Everyone in Pasadena as well as in California must know who am I; the girl that 'predicts death.'" Annabel said with a certain edge to her voice.   
"Well, not exactly. You see," Nicolas took a death breath as he paused. "You saved me as well as my sister that day."   
Annabel didn't know what to say; she wasn't sure if she could say anything at all. Annabel let out a sharp gasp and realized that she hadn't taken a breath since Nicolas had spoken. Finally she managed to whisper, "Wha…" in response to what Nicolas said.   
"Look, like I said before it's really weird but let me explain. My sister and I -she is two years older then me, by the way- were going to Pasadena Airport to catch a flight to Long Island to see our cousin; we were caught in the 'traffic jam' because of the construction on the overhang. We saw you start to freak out and get out of the car with your friends and my sister -she's so cautious you wouldn't believe it- figured that we'd better pull over or something.   
We pulled off the main road -deciding to catch a later flight- and we saw the overhang collapse and the explosion and everything. It was so hard to believe that if we had driven under the overhang that we would have died as well.   
Later, like earlier this week or something, I turned on the news and saw that they were still covering the story. I learned about your 'vision' and all that stuff. Like I said, it's weird and all but you know…." Nicolas let the words trail.   
Annabel almost couldn't believe what Nicolas had just told her; she stared at him, too surprised and confused to say anything. "Oh…" She managed to whisper, seeming incapable of more than one word at a time.   
Nicolas seemed to sense Annabel's confusion; he stood up. "Sorry if I like ruined your day or anything, I didn't mean to spring that on you. After all, you don't even know me or anything. Sorry but at the same time I have to say thanks. Because of you I'm still alive; thank you."   



	12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve   
  
  
  
  
Long after Nicolas had left, Annabel found her thoughts still drifting off to him and to what he said. It seemed almost unreal that someone else survived because of her.   
However, Annabel wasn't so sure she really believed that she had 'saved' four lives. It seemed too eerie that Randy had 'committed suicide' only two weeks after he had survived an accident. To Annabel it just didn't seem right; there were too many "lose ends" if you could call them that.   
After dinner that night -which Annabel skipped- she sat up in her room researching more about "freak accidents" and Death Omens.   
The ringing of the phone jarred Annabel from a dream like trance that she didn't even know she was in. As she reached for the phone, she glanced at the clock; it was 11:56 pm. who would call that late?   
"Hello?" Annabel asked.   
"Annabel? Hi, it's Nicolas; did I wake you?" The voice on the other end of the line responded.   
Annabel licked her lips and paused for second. "Oh. No, you didn't wake me, I was awake." Annabel said, fully recovering from her daze.  
"Good." Nicolas said, there was a long silence; Annabel wasn't sure why Nicolas had called her, or even if he knew why he called her.   
Finally Annabel said, "Nicolas, is there any reason you called?"   
"Well, I guess I just wanted to ask you if tomorrow, if you're not doing anything, I could talk to you. Like we could go out for lunch 'cause there are some things I need to ask you. If you're not busy." Nicolas asked.   
Annabel thought for a minute; Randy's funeral was in a few days and tomorrow she was supposed to go with her family to pick out his casket. However, she was sure her parents wouldn't even notice that she wasn't there.   
"Sure, I'll meet you tomorrow." Annabel answered Nicolas's question.   
"Great. I'll see you tomorrow then." Nicolas said, his voice seemed lighter and happier then it had when she had first picked up.   
"Wait, Nicolas, there's one thing I want to ask you. How did you get my number? It's a 'private' line." Annabel asked.   
"I got the number from Sara, I knew you guys were friends." He answered sheepishly.   
"Oh." Annabel muttered, she'd have to remember to ask Sara if she had given Nicolas her number. It seemed weird that he would know that she and Sara were friends, since she had never seen him before.   
"Goodnight Nicolas." Annabel said and yawned, suddenly feeling tired.   
"Goodnight Annabel and be careful." Nicolas said and with that the line went dead.   
Annabel frowned as she hung the phone up; 'be careful'? be careful about what?   
Annabel decided not to think about it for the time beginning; she shedded her clothes and changed into her nightgown. Annabel fell into a restless but dreamless sleep.   
  
The next morning the sun was hidden behind the large gray clouds that dominated every inch of the usually clear blue sky. Annabel was slower to put on her clothes then usual, blaming that on the dreary weather. Annabel went downstairs and ate a little breakfast before leaving the house; she had a few hours until she had to meet Nicolas for lunch and she wanted to ask Sara about the number.   
She arrived at Sara's house just as it began to rain; large raindrops fell from the sky and hit the pavement and everything in their path. Annabel looked at the rain as she rang the doorbell. She waited until she heard footfalls headed toward the door.   
Sara answered the door, surprised slightly to see Annabel standing there. "Hi, what's up?" Sara asked as she let Annabel in.   
Annabel and Sara sat down on the couch and Annabel decided to be blunt about the reason she had come to visit her friend.   
"Do you know someone named Nicolas?" Annabel asked, eyeing her friend closely.   
"No, not really, I don't think so. Why?" Sara asked, locking eyes with her friend.   
Annabel frowned and bit her lip. "No reason." She said, leaving it at that; not caring to explain everything to her friend.   
Sara shrugged, not wanting to press her friend for the reason of the question. Instead she said, "Do you want to stay for lunch? My dad's at work so I'm all alone, I could use the company."   
Annabel thought for a moment, considering skipping her lunch date with Nicolas. "No, I really can't Sara. Sorry." Annabel said, not meeting her friend's eyes when she said the words.   
Sara's face fell when Annabel answered her question. "That's okay, I understand. I guess I'll see you later then." Sara said.   
Annabel said her good-byes and showed herself out; it was still raining outside, not as heavy as before. Annabel frowned and wished she had brought an umbrella or something.   
Annabel stepped off the porch and headed away from Sara's house; she was now even more eager to talk to Nicolas and discover how he had gotten her phone number.   



	13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen   
  
  
  
  
Annabel knew she was early for her lunch date but she didn't mind. She sat at one of the wire tables outside the coffee shop where she had met Nicolas yesterday. She sipped idly at the coffee cup that held the steaming brown liquid, as she thought about what she would say to Nicolas as soon as he showed up. She also wondered why he had asked to meet her and why she had agreed.   
Annabel wasn't left to her thoughts much longer when Nicolas arrived, taking a seat in front of her.   
"Sorry I'm late." He apologized.   
"You're not late." Annabel said, looking up at him. "I was early." She added.   
For a few minutes, neither of them spoke or looked at each other. Finally, Nicolas spoke.   
"I bet you're wondering why I wanted you to meet me." Nicolas said, his words startling Annabel.   
"Yeah, that's right." She said, surprised at the sudden broken silence.   
"To tell you the truth Annabel, I don't even know why I wanted to see you. I just have this feeling…" He begun but Annabel cut him off.   
"I don't like feelings. Feelings are bad." She said, remembering her own 'feelings' that had lead to disaster.   
"I know." Nicolas said, avoiding eye contact with the girl in front of him. "I just…I don't know why….but I think you should be careful." Nicolas said.   
"You said that last night on the phone but you didn't tell me what I should be careful of. What is it?" Annabel asked, looking at Nicolas.   
"I don't know." Nicolas said, standing up. "Look, I'd better go." He said.   
Before Annabel could say another word, Nicolas was gone. Annabel bit her lip and frowned; Nicolas was 'weird' for lack of a better word. It was only after Nicolas left that Annabel realized that she never asked him how he got her number.   



	14. Chapter Fourteen

  
Chapter Fourteen   
  
  
  
  
Annabel arrived home, the house was empty; her family had gone to pick out a casket for Randy. Annabel was slightly unnerved by the silence but decided that she needed to be alone, needed to think.   
Annabel walked up to her room and frowned at the state it was in; over the past two weeks, she had allowed her room to become a mess. However, Annabel was not in the mood to clean her room; she didn't know what she was in the mood to do. She finally decided that she should get a shower, it would calm her down and then maybe she could think straight.   
  
Annabel stood in the bathroom, a towel was wrapped around her body; droplets of water clung to her bare skin and her wet hair was matted to her head. Annabel sighed as she opened the cabinet next to the mirror. She reached her hand inside and fumbled around for the hair dryer. Her hand closed around the metal base and she withdrew the object, shutting the cabinet doors.   
Annabel plugged the hair dryer into the outlet and flicked the switch on; the dryer lay in her hands, not working as though it "refused" to come on. Annabel flicked the on and off switch back and forth before reached her toward the outlet to giggle the plug around.   
As soon as her hand touched the plug there was a large spark. Annabel gasped and quickly withdrew her hand; the dryer came alive in her hand, blowing warm air onto the foggy mirror.   
The warm air blowing against the mirror began to clear away some of the fog, letting Annabel see part of her reflection. As the air continued to blow against the mirror, Annabel became aware that words were forming on the semi-foggy mirror.   
Annabel watched wide-eyed as the words formed on the mirror. Annabel felt her jaw drop when the words finished forming. "Sara" the words spelled out.   
Annabel dropped the running blow dryer into the semi-wet sink. There was a loud snap and a large spark emerged from the sink. Annabel yelped in surprise and the spark struck the mirror in front of her. Annabel quickly stepped back to avoid being shocked.   
She was horror stricken to realize that the spark had shattered the mirror in the exact spot where the word "Sara" had been. Annabel gasped as she realized that something was going to happen to her best friend.   
  
Sara sat alone on the couch in her quiet house; it was barely two hours after Annabel's departure so it was past lunch but Sara still hadn't eaten. Her father was still at work so the house was silent; it was an eerie silence that made Sara slightly uneasy. Sara wasn't used to being alone during the day, her mother never worked so she was always home when Sara was, but now she wasn't and would never be. It was her father's first day back at work since…since her mother had died, so it was Sara's first day alone. Even Annabel had left her, left her alone.   
Sara pushed all the thoughts of aloneness from her mind and stood up, heading toward the kitchen to fix lunch, even though she wasn't hungry. Sara flicked the kitchen light on when she entered the room; the light chased away the darkness that was caused by the rain and the clouds outside. Sara walked over to the sink and stood, debating what she wanted to fix for lunch.   
Since she wasn't hungry, Sara decided on just an apple for the time being. She reached over to the bowl with an assortment of fruit and chose an apple; she turned on the faucet.   
Clear water rain from the faucet and down into the silver sink, down the drain. Sara held the apple under the water, getting the apple as well as her hands wet. She turned the water off and placed her apple on the counter. As Sara reached for a towel to dry both her hands and the apple off, the kitchen lights flickered and went off.   
Sara frowned and turned around and walked over to the light switch, she flicked it on and off but no light came on. All the lights in the house were off.   
"It must be the storm." Sara muttered to herself, knowing that she would have to go downstairs to check the circuit box. Without bothering to dry her hands, she headed down the stairs and into the basement.  
Her father had showed her how to get the circuits when she was younger, just in case the power ever went out; Sara hoped she still remembered.   
In the basement the lights were out as well, Sara wished she had brought a flashlight. She gingerly walked across the floor of her basement, headed toward the green circuit box. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could vaguely make out shapes in the darkness. The hot-water heated that was almost directly next to the circuit box, the boxes of junk that her mother had put in the basement promising to get rid of one day. Sara shook the memory of her mother from her mind and continued toward the box.   
Sara reached the circuit box and fumbled for the lock that required no key. She hooked her finger under the lock and opened the door. Sara ran her fingers along the circuit breakers, attempting to find the right one by counting the number of switches.   
Sara was so concentrated on finding the right switch that she didn't hear the "drip, drip" of water that had begun to leak from the hot-water heater. The water dripped onto the concrete and begun to form a tiny stream of water that begun to flow across the hard floor toward Sara. The stream began to get a little wider and was still slowly inching its way toward Sara, who still hadn't noticed the water.   
The water began to form a puddle directly behind Sara's feet; the dripping ceased but the water continued to trickle out of the hot-water heater.   
Sara flicked a few of the switches and smiled, though the expression was hidden in the darkness.   
"There, that should be right." Sara said, happy with herself for figuring it out by herself.   
Sara stepped backward to leave and slipped on the puddle of water. She barely had time to utter and surprised cry before she fell forward into the circuit box. Sara put her wet hands out in front of her to brace herself; her hands hit the circuit breakers. There was a loud pop and Sara was electrocuted by the electric switches. Sara's limp and lifeless body slid to the floor, her hands charred beyond recognition and the rest of her body was slightly charred.   
The puddle of water receded; the lights flickered on in the basement, as well as through the whole house. The lights bathed Sara's corpse in light, the pale yellow light cast eerie shadows over her body.   
  
Annabel hurried down the familiar route to Sara's house; she had to get to her friend's house and tell her about her "vision". Annabel ran up the driveway to Sara's house and onto her porch. She began to pound on the front door. "Sara!" Annabel called, still pounding on the door, praying that her friend answered.   
There was a shallow click and the door swung open; Annabel nearly fell forward once the opened. Annabel was surprised to see that Sara had not opened the door; she was surprised to find that no one had opened the door.   
"Sara!" Annabel yelled into the silent house, stepping inside not bothering to shut the door behind her.   
Nothing but silence answered Annabel's disparate cries; Annabel slowly walked through the living room and into the kitchen. On the counter she saw an apple that was still slightly wet, which meant someone had just washed it.   
Annabel left the kitchen and walked into the hall. She paused when she saw the door that led to the basement was slightly ajar. Annabel opened the door all the way. "Sara?" Annabel called into the basement.   
There was no answer; Annabel swallowed and began to walk down the steps to the basement. She was glad that the lights were on, despite that fact that it was strange that they were on.   
Annabel didn't get very far before she saw the charred body of her best friend lying under the circuit box. Annabel let out a gag like gasp and stumbled backward. Surprising the eager to gag, Annabel stumbled her way back up the basements steps and into the main part of the house. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the hook.   
She slowly dialed the police and managed to choke out the story to them before she began to sob, dropping the phone and leaning against the wall. Annabel slid down to the floor, leaning her head against the wall.   



	15. Chapter Fifteen

  
Chapter Fifteen   
  
  
It seemed like hours before the police arrived; one of the officers led Annabel to one of the police cars and explained to her that they needed to ask her a few questions. The drive to the police station was a very quiet one, and it reminded Annabel of the drive to the airport after the collapsing overhang.   
Annabel numbly answered all the police officer's questions before they let her lay down on a cot that was shoved against the room's far wall.   
Annabel lay numbly while she watched the officer dial her phone number on the black phone that rested on his desk. After five minutes, the office hung up the phone, apologizing about the fact that her parents weren't home.   
"No, they're out. So are my brothers." Annabel muttered, her voice flat and expressionless.   
"Is there someone else you'd like to call to come pick you up?" The officer asked.   
Annabel thought for a moment. "Yes, there is." She finally answered.   
  
It seemed like a few more hours before the door to the room opened; Annabel and the police offer turned their heads to see who had entered the room. It was Joshua.   
"I got here as fast as I could after you called." Joshua said and rushed over to Annabel's side. "What's the matter?" He asked.   
When Annabel requested that the officer not tell Joshua why he was coming down to the station, she didn't know why she had asked however.   
"Sara's dead." Annabel answered, trying to keep her voice from wavering; however, that was nearly an impossible task.   
"What happened?" Joshua asked, locking eyes with Annabel.   
Annabel told Joshua the whole story, leaving out the part about her 'vision'. When she was finished telling him, she began to cry again. Joshua embraced her and she buried her head in his chest, her shoulders shaking with every sob.   
  
After the officer officially said that it was all right for Annabel to leave, she and Joshua left the station and began walking -to where they didn't know.   
"What exactly happened Annabel?" Joshua asked, feeling sure that she hadn't told the whole story, to him or the police officer.   
"I don't want to talk about it, Joshua." Annabel said, looking away from him.   
They continued to walk in silence, neither knowing what to say. Without realizing it, Annabel saw that they had been walking in the direction of her house; now, they both stood in the driveway. Her parents' car was in the driveway and the porch light was on, as were some of the lights in the house.   
"I'd better go." Annabel said, motioning to her house.   
Joshua nodded; Annabel turned to leave but Joshua grabbed her arm. Annabel turned around and Joshua kissed her before she could say anything.   
When Joshua broke the kiss, he looked at her; Annabel smiled slightly and said her goodbyes once again.   
They parted ways and Annabel walked to her front door and turned the doorknob, surprised to find the door unlocked. Her parents were sitting in the living room but they didn't bother to acknowledge that she was there.   
Annabel walked up the stairs to her room and closed the door behind her. With half her mind still on Joshua, Annabel sat down at her computer. Something still bothered her about everything that had happened over the past few weeks; it was bizarre that she predicted the collapsing of the overhang and then she, Sara and Randy had avoided being killed, they had escaped their death. Then, she found out that Nicolas and his sister had also escaped getting killed, because of her; they had seen her 'freak out' and had pulled off the road. Then, Randy had 'committed suicide' and four days later Sara died. Sara had gotten electrocuted; that just doesn't happen that much, it was too eerie.   
Annabel give a frustrated sigh and rested her head in her palms; it was all so confusing, so bizarre, so… Planned out. Annabel lifted her head and thought for a minute. Planned out? Was that possible? There was really only one person who would know.   
Annabel got out a sheet of paper and begun writing a letter to her aunt in Long Island. She asked for information on Alex's girlfriend Clear; something told Annabel that she would be the one to answer all her questions.   
Annabel finished the letter and stuck it in an envelope and wrote her aunt and uncle's address on the letter; in the morning she would ask for a stamp and mail the letter.   
Setting the letter on her desk, Annabel changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. As soon as she rested her head on the pillow, she realized how tired she was.   



	16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen   
  
  
Annabel was once again awakened by a dream, or a nightmare which ever you prefer. This time, however, the person in the dream was no one she recognized. Annabel wasn't even sure exactly what the dream meant; in the dream there was a blonde girl that looked a little older then herself. The girl was in a dimly lit area, a garage or a basement Annabel guessed; then there was fire. That was all Annabel remembered, that and the fact that her right side hurt. Annabel had no idea why her side hurt; perhaps she had slept on it the 'wrong way'. That was probably it.   
Annabel lay in bed, trying to fall back asleep but she found it impossible.   
  
The next morning, Annabel received calls from both Joshua and Nicolas asking her to meet them later that day. She decided that it would be a good "opportunity" for everyone to meet everyone else. Then maybe someone would have an answer to everything that had been happening. After skipping breakfast, Annabel left her house; on her way out her father told her that Randy's funeral was the next day. Annabel barely acknowledged that she heard him.   
Annabel, not wanting to be early again, decided to talk a walk before meeting Joshua and Nicolas. She found herself walking the familiar route to Sara's house. By the time she realized she was doing it, it was too late to turn around because she stood in front of Sara's house. Or, what used to be Sara's house.   
Annabel was slightly surprised to see a FOR SALE sign stuck in the lawn of the house. Sara's father's car was parked in the driveway, which signaled that he was home.   
Annabel was startled when she saw Mr. Madison exit the house and stand on the porch. Mr. Madison -his first name was Kevin but Annabel hadn't even heard Sara's mother call him by that name- was startled when he saw her as well.   
His look of shock quickly disappeared and was replaced by a look of anger -or what Annabel guessed was anger. Mr. Kevin Madison walked up the driveway toward Annabel.   
"What are you doing here?" He asked, there was certain edge to his voice; there was no mistaking that.   
"You're selling your house?" Annabel said, not bothering to answer his question since she didn't have an answer.   
"I can't stay here, not anymore." Mr. Madison said, looking over at the FOR SALE sign.   
"Oh." Annabel muttered.   
"You found her, didn't you? The police said that someone found Sara and I know it wasn't me. It was you wasn't it." Mr. Madison said, his voice was chipped with an accusing tone.   
Annabel swallowed and nodded, trying to push the sickening images of her dead friend from her mind.   
"How did you know? If you knew she was going to die you should have warned her." Mr. Madison spat, his eyes welling up with tears of sadness and anger.   
"I…" Annabel begun, not believing that Sara's father blamed her for his daughter's death.   
"You saw the overhang collapsing too, but you didn't warn Abby about it. You didn't warn either of them." Mr. Madison said, his voice full of anger.   
"I tried!" Annabel cried, realizing that tears were falling down her cheeks. "I really did." She added, whispering the words.   
Without another word, Annabel turned and left not bothering to look back. Annabel realized that she would probably never see her deceased friend's house again; she wasn't even sure she wanted to.   
  



	17. Chapter Seventeen

  
  
  
Chapter Seventeen   
  
  
  
  
Being seated at the same iron table outside the same coffee shop seemed like yesterday was happening all over again. However, instead of Nicolas sitting in front of her at the iron table, it was Joshua and they were waiting for Nicolas to arrive.   
"So, this guy always late?" Joshua asked, looking at his watch.   
"Joshua, we're early." Annabel reminded him.   
Half an hour ago, Joshua had showed up early to find Annabel with her head buried in her arms crying. She was happy he had showed up early, but she didn't tell him why she was crying.   
Within five minutes, Nicolas arrived, however he wasn't alone. Beside him was a blonde girl who looked exactly like the girl from Annabel's dream. Annabel felt her jaw drop, the resemblance was almost uncanny; it was eerie but Annabel was used to that feeling.   
"This is my sister, Cody." Nicolas introduced. Cody smiled at Annabel and Joshua before taking a seat left of Annabel. Joshua moved over one seat so he was sitting on Annabel's right side; Nicolas was sitting across from Annabel.   
Annabel quickly introduced Joshua to Nicolas and Cody, before introducing herself to Cody but it was evident that Cody already knew who she was.   
After introductions were made, the four of them sat at the iron table in silence. Annabel was surprised when Nicolas broke the silence; what surprised her more was what he said.   
"I heard about Sara." Nicolas said.   
Annabel jerked her head up at the words that Nicolas said. "What?" She asked, not aware that she whispered the words.   
"Your friend, sorry." Nicolas said, not bothering to extend his words or give any further words.   
Annabel frowned and bit her lip; how did Nicolas know about Sara? Were they covering it on the news? Doubtful, just some teenager that got electrocuted; the police probably deemed Sara's death as a 'careless accident by some stupid teenage girl.' If it wasn't on the news, how did Nicolas know about Sara's death?   
When Annabel opened her mouth to ask Nicolas how he knew, a different question came out. "Who's your cousin?" Annabel asked, she didn't even realize she had asked that question until Nicolas answered it.   
"What do you mean?" Nicolas asked.   
"The other day, when I first met you, you said that you were going to Long Island to visit your cousin." Annabel clarified.   
"Oh. He's sort of my -our- half cousin. His name is Carter but I don't see why that's important." Nicolas answered Annabel's question.   
"Oh, it's not. I was just wondering." Annabel muttered, her tone of voice indicated that she wanted to drop the subject.   
Once again, the four at the table had nothing to say; for once, Annabel welcomed the silence, her mind was reeling with lots of information; there was so much information but it didn't fit, Annabel knew it should fit but it didn't.   
Annabel stood up, everyone at the table looked up at her. "I have to go." Annabel said, not bothering for an explanation. She needed to think and she couldn't think here.   
No one questioned Annabel's departure but once she left everyone else left as well; there was no reason to stay now that Annabel was gone.   
  



	18. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen   
  
  
  
  
Annabel checked the mail as she approached her driveway; there was nothing in the mailbox for her so she left the rest of the letters and bills inside the box, not bothering to collect them. She entered her house and walked up to her room, not bothering to greet her parents.   
Annabel shut the door behind her and flopped down on her bed. Her head throbbed with all the information that buzzed around in her head; she needed to talk to someone but there was no one to talk to. Not Joshua, he wouldn't understand even if she decided to talk to him; he would probably think she was even stranger then before, Annabel couldn't forget the look he gave her when she told him that Alex was her cousin. Not Nicolas, she barely knew him but he seemed to know a lot about her, he was one of the biggest pieces in the puzzle. Annabel couldn't even talk to her parents; she needed to get a response from her aunt. However, the letter wouldn't get to Long Island for another few days; why had she mailed a letter in the first place when she could have just called?   
There was an idea; in fact, it was the best idea that Annabel had had in a while. However, would her parents find it funny that she was calling her aunt in Long Island? The aunt that she hadn't talked to in years, except for when her aunt asked if she and Randy wanted to visit but even then it was her mother who took the call.   
Annabel would have to risk getting the 'third degree', she needed to know about Clear because something was telling Annabel that Clear was another piece of the puzzle. A very important piece.   
Annabel decided to use her own phone to call her aunt long distance, despite the fact that she had to pay for the bill herself; there was less chance of getting caught if she was in her own room. 'Getting caught', Annabel repeated the words inside her head; it sounded as though she was doing something she shouldn't be. But her parents never said she wasn't allowed to call her aunt, but the question had never come up.   
Annabel dialed her aunt's number, surprised that she even knew the number. It was her uncle that answered the phone; his voice was flat and emotionless. Annabel asked to speak to her aunt and the phone went silent for a few seconds before a new voice answered.   
"Hello?" The voice asked, it was her aunt's voice; it was as flat as her uncle's had been.   
"Aunt Barbara? It's me, Annabel." Annabel said surprised that her uncle hadn't told her aunt who was calling.   
"Annabel, dear it's so nice to hear from you. I'm sorry you couldn't come; it's tragic isn't it? What happened, I mean." Barbara Browning said, her voice lightening up a little bit.   
"Yeah." Annabel muttered, wondering if her mother had called to tell her aunt and uncle what happened to Randy. The way her Aunt Barbara talked, Annabel doubted it so she didn't want to bring it up.   
"What can I do for you?" Barbara asked.   
"Well, it's sort of weird but here goes anyway. I already sent you a letter but then it occurred to me that you wouldn't get it for a while and I needed an answer like right away. You see, I wanted to know everything that you know about Clear. You know, Alex's girlfriend." Annabel said, talking in a rushed voice; she hoped her aunt heard everything she said.   
The phone was silent for a few minutes, Annabel suddenly felt guilty about bringing up Alex since his parents were obviously still grieving like his death had happened yesterday.   
However, Barbara finally spoke, startling Annabel from her thoughts. "There really isn't much to know about her; she checked herself into a 'metal institution' if you care to call it that. However, I don't think she's crazy; she was a sweet girl, you know. That's really all I know about her, except that fact that her father is dead and her mother and stepfather left her or something like that. Sad, isn't it?" Barbara said, it was clear that she was trying to be of help to Annabel even though she knew very little.   
"Yeah, it is sad." Annabel muttered, feeling as though she knew how Clear felt since it appeared that her family no longer seemed to care that she was there. "Do you know what 'hospital' she checked herself into? The name?" Annabel asked, grabbing blindly for a piece of paper and a pen to write the information on. As she grabbed a notebook and pen she knocked something off her desk; Annabel didn't pause to see what she had knocked down.   
"I think so, hang on a second." Her aunt said. It was clear she turned away from the receiver -perhaps she placed her hand over the receiver- because Annabel could barely hear her aunt yell "Ken, what was that asylum called, the one where Clear is?"   
After a few seconds, her aunt spoke back into the receiver. "It was called something like Harris Hospital for the… oh I can't remember. But it was something like that. Any reason you want to know dear?" Her aunt Barbara asked.   
Annabel bit her lip. "Well, Randy wanted to know and I told him I'd ask you." Annabel lied, biting her lip until it bled.   
"Oh, all right. Well, take care and do call back soon." Her aunt said, the sadness in her voice returned.   
"I will Aunt Barbara." Annabel said and bid her aunt goodbye before hanging up the phone.   
Annabel let out a mournful sigh and looked down at the paper in her hand. She laid the paper down on her bed and went to see what fell off her desk. It was an Etch-A-Sketch; Annabel looked down at the red plastic 'toy' and bit her lip again. When she was younger, Randy had gotten it for her for her birthday, since she had wanted one so bad. Annabel reached down to pick the board up and was about to place it back on her cluttered desk when words begun to etch themselves on the board.   
It was all Annabel could do to keep from dropping the board; once it seemed like the words stopped forming Annabel read the words. "This is the end." She read aloud, surprised at the words as she read them off.   
Before she could react the board fell out of her hands and the words erased from the sand. Annabel cursed aloud, angry that the words were gone; however, on second thought Annabel couldn't think of what she would have done if the words had stayed. There was really nothing she could have done; no one she could have showed.   
Annabel placed the board back on her desk and flopped down on her bed; trying not to think about everything she had learned in the past ten minutes. Instead of clearing up everything that was so confusing, the call to her aunt had just fogged things up more. And now the message on the Etch-A-Sketch board; what exactly was it supposed to mean? Annabel, however, wasn't exactly sure if she wanted to believe what an Etch-A-Sketch board said.   
Maybe she was losing her mind, after everything that happened she couldn't blame herself. However, after thinking for a few seconds Annabel decided she wasn't losing her mind, she was sure of it. Almost.   



	19. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen   
  
  
  
For the rest of the day, Annabel was restless and worried about something. She figured it had to do with Cody, but she couldn't place her feelings so she attempted to shrug them off. However, it was no easy task.   
As the sun begun to set in the West, Annabel sat down at her desk and connected to the Internet. It was the last thing she could think of to do, after she cleaned her room and locked the Etch-A-Sketch, blow dryer and any spare cords in her closet.   
As soon as Annabel connected to the Internet, she decided to research anything she could on Harris Hospital. The search engine could turn up nothing on the hospital except for the fact that it was located in Long Island, which she already knew.   
Frustrated, agitated, confused and bored Annabel flung the closest thing to her across the room. That thing happened to be her phone; the phone smashed into the wall and the plastic casing brook off.   
"Damnit!" Annabel screamed. She stood up and walked across the room and picked up her broken phone.   
All the numbers -which usually glowed a bright, sickly green-, were pale except one. The six number was still flashing; it flashed three times and then went dead.   
Annabel stared at the phone, wide-eyed and confused before dropping the case like it was hot iron. She remembered that the number "six" was supposed to foretell Death and/or Evil.   
Annabel backed away from the phone like it was the plague and refused to believe that it was a warning. However, Annabel couldn't deny what she was feeling. But, that wasn't going to stop her from trying.   
  
In a little while, her mother called her down for dinner; to humor her parents, she went downstairs and sat at the table but she didn't eat, didn't feel like eating.   
"Annabel, you need to eat; you haven't eaten anything in a long while, it's really not good for you." Her father said, pointing to her plate with his fork.   
Annabel looked down at her food -lasagna, carrots and a small salad- and swallowed. She grimaced as she forced herself to take a bite of her lasagna; she clapped her jaws shut and forced herself to swallow. Suddenly, food seemed so repulsive to her, she could not go through dinner forcing herself to eat bite by bite the way she just did.   
"Can I be excused?" She asked, asking no one in particular but speaking downward to her plate.  
"And where do you plan to go?" Her mother asked, looking over at her daughter. "Not to your room I hope; you're spending too much time in your room. I know your best friend is dead but that's no reason…" Her mother begun but Annabel cut her off by slamming her palms onto the table and standing up.   
"I'm going for a walk." Annabel said as calmly as she could manage. Without another word from anyone at the table, Annabel left the kitchen and left the house.   
  
At first, Annabel didn't know where she was headed but she didn't really care; she continued to walk down the sidewalk blindly. She crossed the street, heedless of the oncoming cars that had to screech on their breaks and swerve at out of the way to avoid hitting her.   
Annabel left the main part of the small town and once again begun walking down a leaf-covered sidewalk. When Annabel came back to her senses, she felt like she had been asleep or in a trance; she looked around her and realized she had no idea where she was.   
She was, however, in a neighborhood that almost looked like no one lived there except for the lights on in the windows and flickering of TV sets that could be detected through the curtained windows. All the houses were large, semi-mansion like but a lot bigger than Annabel by a few feet; some were bigger than Annabel's house by whole stories. Large houses lined the sidewalks, lawns well cut and hedges well trimmed.   
Despite that fact that this placed seemed vaguely familiar -almost dream-like familiar- to Annabel, she still had no idea where she was.   



	20. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty   
  
  
  
  
"I'm going out." Nicolas called into the kitchen as he slipped his light blue jacked over his "Fear Nothing" T-Shirt.   
His sister peered over at him, studying him as though she was debating whether to let him go or not. "All right but be back before ten, Mom and Dad will be home then and they told you not to go out." Cody said, giving her brother a half-smile that said 'your secret is safe with me'.   
Nicolas said goodbye and reached for the doorknob, leaving his sister alone in the house to continue washing dishes.   
Cody ran a dinner plate under the semi-hot tap water, rinsing the soapsuds off the slick surface. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail to keep it from getting wet.   
Cody finished washing the dishes and dried them, placing them in the cabinets with an echoing 'clink' that filled the silent house. Cody let out a bored but somewhat tired sigh as she left the kitchen and walked into the living room. She sat down on the couch and was about to reach for the TV remote when the windows begun rattling.   
Cody jumped nearly six inches when the windows started rattling; Cody looked around, trying to see what was causing the windows to shake. It wasn't an earthquake because nothing else was happening, pictures weren't falling off the walls or anything so Cody quickly ruled out earthquake.   
Before Cody could think too much on what might be causing the shaking, the rattling stopped as quickly and mysteriously as it had started. Cody let out a breath and realized that she had been holding her breath since the ratting started.   
"How weird." Cody muttered to herself, trying to fill the eerily silent house with some sound. However, the sound of her voice sounded even more out of place then the silence did.   
Cody reached again for the TV remote again but decided against it, as though her reaching had caused the windows to rattle. Instead, Cody switched on the lamplight and decided to sit on the couch and think until she thought of something to do.   
Within ten minutes, Cody felt like she was about to drift asleep. There was a hissing sound and the lamplight flickered and went dead, as did the other lights in the house. Cody jerked her head off the back of the couch and her eyes were greeted with a blackness that made her think she was still asleep or her eyes were still closed.   
Cody stood up and rolled her shoulders, instant reflex upon standing up, and walked into the kitchen to rummage around for a flashlight. When she entered the kitchen she immediately reached out for the light switch but pulled her hand back, chiding herself for doing that.   
She opened the junk draw -which was a spare cabinet draw that had no place among the other draws, the odd ball- for a flashlight. She groaned when she didn't find one, a groan of disgust and tedium as she realized she would have to go into the garage to get a flashlight. However, Cody wasn't too keen on going into the garage and she especially didn't want to do it in the dark. Exiting the kitchen, she returned to the living room and opened the draw to the coffee cable.   
Without much difficulty she found a half burnt candle and a book of matches laying in the draw. Cody fumbled for them and set the candle on the table. She opened the book of matches and groped to get one out; her hands shook as she attempted to light the match. After a few tries and a few matches, Cody finally managed to light one; she held the burning tip to the black wick until the wick caught afire.   
Cody shook the match out and placed the book back in the back in the draw and closed it. Cody looked around for something to place to candle on to make it easier for her to carry. After a few minutes, she couldn't find anything so she held the candle at the very bottom and held it up. The small light did its best to chase the darkness away but it just cast eerie shadows and flickering light upon the darkness.   
Cody walked gingerly toward the side door, which led to the garage; the candlelight did little to brighten up the dreary darkness. Cody reached out for the light switch and clicked it, only to feel foolish when she realized that the power was out. That was the whole reason she went into the garage, to get a flashlight since the power was out.   
Cody held her hand out so that the candle would be able to light more of the dark; the light brought a few things into Cody's vision. Shelves piled high with junk were straight across from her, pressed against the wall; boxes littered the floor; to her far right there was a shelf piled with garden tools, rakes, shovels and more glinted in the faint light.   
Cody decided that the place where a flashlight was most likely to be was on one of the junk shelves. Cody gingerly walked over to the shelves and peered upward, holding the candle up to see if she could see a flashlight. In the dim candlelight, Cody could barely make out the faint bright green coloring of a large camping style flashlight. She reached her hand up to retrieve the flashlight.   
  
Annabel was about to turn back and head back home, away from the strange neighborhood when she noticed someone watching her from her right side. Annabel turned her body to face her right and cocked her head to see who was watching her. It was Joshua.   
"I didn't mean to scare you or give you the impression that I was stalking you or anything but I went by your house to see you and your parents said you weren't there." Joshua said and walked over to stand in front of Annabel.   
"How did you know I was here?" Annabel asked, eyeing Joshua closely.   
"Nicolas saw you when he left his house just a few minutes ago; I saw him when I was looking for you, he said that he thought it was you." Joshua answered.   
Annabel studied him for a second, trying to decide if he was telling the truth. "Where is Nicolas now?" She asked, deciding that she had no reason not to trust Joshua.   
Joshua shrugged. "I have no idea." He answered. "What are you doing here?" He asked, looking into Annabel's eyes.   
"I don't know." Annabel said, a since of strong confusion in her voice. "I just started walking and I ended up…wait did you say that Nicolas saw me when he was leaving his house?" Annabel asked, her voice clouding over with worry and confusion.   
"Yeah, why?" Joshua asked, noticing the change in Annabel.   
Annabel's eyes darted around quickly as she thought for a few minutes; if Nicolas lived here that meant his sister did too. As soon as Annabel thought about Cody she felt a wave of worry that washed over her entire body; something was wrong, it was the same feeling that she got when she saw Randy's picture or when she nearly shocked herself with the blow drier.   
"Find Nicolas." Annabel instructed, her voice tight with fear.   
"Why? Annabel what's…." Joshua begun but Annabel cut him off.   
"Go!" She commanded. Without another word Joshua turned around to find Nicolas. Annabel watched him go before she turned around to face the houses in the neighborhood again. One of them was Cody and Nicolas's; she just wasn't sure which one it was. And she felt like she didn't have much time to find out.


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty   
  
  
  
  
"I'm going out." Nicolas called into the kitchen as he slipped his light blue jacked over his "Fear Nothing" T-Shirt.   
His sister peered over at him, studying him as though she was debating whether to let him go or not. "All right but be back before ten, Mom and Dad will be home then and they told you not to go out." Cody said, giving her brother a half-smile that said 'your secret is safe with me'.   
Nicolas said goodbye and reached for the doorknob, leaving his sister alone in the house to continue washing dishes.   
Cody ran a dinner plate under the semi-hot tap water, rinsing the soapsuds off the slick surface. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail to keep it from getting wet.   
Cody finished washing the dishes and dried them, placing them in the cabinets with an echoing 'clink' that filled the silent house. Cody let out a bored but somewhat tired sigh as she left the kitchen and walked into the living room. She sat down on the couch and was about to reach for the TV remote when the windows begun rattling.   
Cody jumped nearly six inches when the windows started rattling; Cody looked around, trying to see what was causing the windows to shake. It wasn't an earthquake because nothing else was happening, pictures weren't falling off the walls or anything so Cody quickly ruled out earthquake.   
Before Cody could think too much on what might be causing the shaking, the rattling stopped as quickly and mysteriously as it had started. Cody let out a breath and realized that she had been holding her breath since the ratting started.   
"How weird." Cody muttered to herself, trying to fill the eerily silent house with some sound. However, the sound of her voice sounded even more out of place then the silence did.   
Cody reached again for the TV remote again but decided against it, as though her reaching had caused the windows to rattle. Instead, Cody switched on the lamplight and decided to sit on the couch and think until she thought of something to do.   
Within ten minutes, Cody felt like she was about to drift asleep. There was a hissing sound and the lamplight flickered and went dead, as did the other lights in the house. Cody jerked her head off the back of the couch and her eyes were greeted with a blackness that made her think she was still asleep or her eyes were still closed.   
Cody stood up and rolled her shoulders, instant reflex upon standing up, and walked into the kitchen to rummage around for a flashlight. When she entered the kitchen she immediately reached out for the light switch but pulled her hand back, chiding herself for doing that.   
She opened the junk draw -which was a spare cabinet draw that had no place among the other draws, the odd ball- for a flashlight. She groaned when she didn't find one, a groan of disgust and tedium as she realized she would have to go into the garage to get a flashlight. However, Cody wasn't too keen on going into the garage and she especially didn't want to do it in the dark. Exiting the kitchen, she returned to the living room and opened the draw to the coffee cable.   
Without much difficulty she found a half burnt candle and a book of matches laying in the draw. Cody fumbled for them and set the candle on the table. She opened the book of matches and groped to get one out; her hands shook as she attempted to light the match. After a few tries and a few matches, Cody finally managed to light one; she held the burning tip to the black wick until the wick caught afire.   
Cody shook the match out and placed the book back in the back in the draw and closed it. Cody looked around for something to place to candle on to make it easier for her to carry. After a few minutes, she couldn't find anything so she held the candle at the very bottom and held it up. The small light did its best to chase the darkness away but it just cast eerie shadows and flickering light upon the darkness.   
Cody walked gingerly toward the side door, which led to the garage; the candlelight did little to brighten up the dreary darkness. Cody reached out for the light switch and clicked it, only to feel foolish when she realized that the power was out. That was the whole reason she went into the garage, to get a flashlight since the power was out.   
Cody held her hand out so that the candle would be able to light more of the dark; the light brought a few things into Cody's vision. Shelves piled high with junk were straight across from her, pressed against the wall; boxes littered the floor; to her far right there was a shelf piled with garden tools, rakes, shovels and more glinted in the faint light.   
Cody decided that the place where a flashlight was most likely to be was on one of the junk shelves. Cody gingerly walked over to the shelves and peered upward, holding the candle up to see if she could see a flashlight. In the dim candlelight, Cody could barely make out the faint bright green coloring of a large camping style flashlight. She reached her hand up to retrieve the flashlight.   
  
Annabel was about to turn back and head back home, away from the strange neighborhood when she noticed someone watching her from her right side. Annabel turned her body to face her right and cocked her head to see who was watching her. It was Joshua.   
"I didn't mean to scare you or give you the impression that I was stalking you or anything but I went by your house to see you and your parents said you weren't there." Joshua said and walked over to stand in front of Annabel.   
"How did you know I was here?" Annabel asked, eyeing Joshua closely.   
"Nicolas saw you when he left his house just a few minutes ago; I saw him when I was looking for you, he said that he thought it was you." Joshua answered.   
Annabel studied him for a second, trying to decide if he was telling the truth. "Where is Nicolas now?" She asked, deciding that she had no reason not to trust Joshua.   
Joshua shrugged. "I have no idea." He answered. "What are you doing here?" He asked, looking into Annabel's eyes.   
"I don't know." Annabel said, a since of strong confusion in her voice. "I just started walking and I ended up…wait did you say that Nicolas saw me when he was leaving his house?" Annabel asked, her voice clouding over with worry and confusion.   
"Yeah, why?" Joshua asked, noticing the change in Annabel.   
Annabel's eyes darted around quickly as she thought for a few minutes; if Nicolas lived here that meant his sister did too. As soon as Annabel thought about Cody she felt a wave of worry that washed over her entire body; something was wrong, it was the same feeling that she got when she saw Randy's picture or when she nearly shocked herself with the blow drier.   
"Find Nicolas." Annabel instructed, her voice tight with fear.   
"Why? Annabel what's…." Joshua begun but Annabel cut him off.   
"Go!" She commanded. Without another word Joshua turned around to find Nicolas. Annabel watched him go before she turned around to face the houses in the neighborhood again. One of them was Cody and Nicolas's; she just wasn't sure which one it was. And she felt like she didn't have much time to find out.


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-One   
  
  
  
  
Cody reached her hand up and put it on the cool metal of the top shelf, where she saw the flashlight. However, all her hand touched was metal and dust. Cody moved her hand around, fumbling for the flashlight. Her hand touched the cool rectangular metal of a gasoline container. Cody moved her hand away; it wasn't the flashlight so she had no reason to bother with it anymore. As soon as she pulled her hand away, her arm knocked the container and it fell down.   
The container was uncorked so when it fell the fluid poured all over Cody as well as the floor. The fluid poured all over the surprised Cody, getting her eyes as well. Cody let out a painful cry and dropped the candle as she began rubbing at her eyes with her gasoline-covered hands. The candle hit the ground and the flame hit the fluid and burst into flames. The flames spread throughout the garage a lot faster then normal, aided by an unusual amount of lighter fluid that continued to leak from the container.   
Cody could feel the flames lick her skin but she couldn't see them, she couldn't see anything; Cody began to panic. She stumbled forward and her right foot stepped right into the flames. Cody screamed in pain and fell forward; she blindly struggled to get away from the flames, lying on her back against the cool garage floor that wasn't so cool anymore.   
The flames caught clothes that were in laundry baskets on fire, aiding to the spreading. The flames began to lick the ceiling, catching old, dry rafters a flame; the flames licked the garage door, scorching the wood. The garage was almost fully aflame and the house was beginning to catch afire as well. Cody begun to cry as she squirmed to get away from the flames.   
  
Annabel had begun to hurriedly walk up and down sidewalks, hoping she could figure out which house was the right house -how she would figure it out was beyond her- but she had had no luck. Annabel let out a strangled sigh and sat down on the edge of the sidewalk, deciding to wait until Nicolas and Joshua returned, wherever they were.   
Out of the corner of her eye, Annabel saw a bright light against the blackness of the sky. She turned to face the light and realized that it was fire; one of the houses was on fire.   
Annabel leapt to her feet and raced toward the house, her heart leaping in her throat as she ran as fast as she could. Annabel reached the house and saw that the fire had nearly engulfed the garage; regardless of the 'danger' Annabel ran down the driveway and looked down at the closed garage door.   
She bent down and grasped the metal handle, which was scalding hot due to the fire inside. Annabel let out a cry of pain and shock and jerked her hands away. Annabel bit back a sob as she looked at her hands, which were already showing signs of server burns.   
"Idiot." Annabel muttered in a harsh whisper as she looked around for something to tie around her hands so that she could lift the door. After finding nothing, Annabel grasped the bottom of her shirt in her throbbing hands and ripped it, tearing off strips. Annabel hurriedly tied the strips around her hands and grabbed the metal handle and lifted the door. The heat still reached her hands but the strips helped a little; what matter was that Annabel had managed to open the door.   
Annabel begun to cough as she stared into the garage it was impossible to see anything at all but fire and smoke. However, Annabel stumbled into the garage, tears forming her eyes from the smoke and her chest aching.   
"Cody!" She called into the smoke, sure that this was the house she had been searching for.   
  
From on the floor, Cody vaguely heard someone call her name. She had given up trying to free herself and was lying on the ground waiting to die. But now someone knew she was here, someone could save her. "Here!" Cody managed to call out, her lungs felt as though they were on fire.   
  
Annabel heard someone answer to desperate call; Cody was in here. "Hang on! Where are you?" Annabel called. The smoke had burned her eyes, forcing her to close them; Annabel could feel the heat against her skin.   
Annabel forced herself to open her eyes and looked around, trying to see Cody. However, all she could see in the dark and smoke was a metal gasoline can that seemed unfazed by the heat. The fire begun to scorch the legs of a wooden table, causing the wood to dissipate and crack in the heat.   
The table, which was another one of the things Annabel could barely see, begun to lean forward, staggering under the missing support. The table legs cracked and the table fell forward, knocking into a shelf. The shelf was full of junk and small garden towels such as spades and tiny rakes that could be used to rake easily around tree trunks.   
When the table knocked into the shelf, the shelf begun to sway dangerously and tittered forward. The shelf fell forward; Annabel looked up just in time to jump back. She tripped over something and fell onto the ground; the shelf fell as well, falling on Annabel's left foot. Lucky for Annabel it didn't land fully on Annabel's leg, just on her foot. However it hurt and Annabel let out a scream of pain as the shelf landed on her foot.   
Cody, however, was not as lucky when the bulk of the shelf landed on her upper body, crushing her head and breaking her neck.   
Annabel could swear she heard Cody's bones snap as the shelf hit her; Annabel begun to cry and try to drag her foot out from under the shelf.   
  
Joshua and Nicolas had arrived just as the shelf landed on Cody and Annabel, they ran up the driveway as Annabel screamed and Cody died.   
"Annabel!" Joshua yelled and ran toward the open garage, Nicolas in tow. They could barely see Annabel lying on the floor, jerking herself back in forth, trying to free herself.   
  
Annabel was about to give up trying to free herself when she felt someone grab her arm on either side and begun to pull her backward, trying to free her. Annabel looked up to see Joshua and Nicolas; Annabel struggled to help them free her. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Annabel felt her foot come lose -however, Annabel wasn't sure if having her foot freed hurt as much as having the shelf land on her.   
Joshua helped Annabel stand and the three of them hurried out of the garage.   
As soon as they exited the garage, it exploded; Annabel guessed there were plenty of things in their to cause the garage to combust, she was only thankful that it hadn't exploded when they were inside.   
Annabel shielded her face from the heat in Joshua's chest, closing her eyes and fighting back tears. Another person was dead, another person that she had 'saved' from dying earlier. It was too confusing and Annabel knew there was no way she could understand it. There was only one person whom Annabel could think of who could understand it and explain it. She could only hope


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Two   
  
  
  
  
  
Despite Joshua and Nicolas's protests, Annabel hurried home, alone. She found that her foot didn't hurt as bad as it had before -her shoes had softened most of the blow- so she was able to run home, or at least walk really fast. Annabel couldn't stay here in Pasadena anymore; it was too confusing, too dangerous. Annabel opened the door to her house and shut it behind her, running up to her room.   
When she was upstairs Annabel shut the door behind her and turned on the lights. She looked down at her hands and grimaced; her hands had been bleeding slightly and white spots had begun to form across her palms. She was able to pick things up and use her hands to Annabel didn't worry too much about her hands, aside from the fact that they hurt a little but they were mostly numb.   
Annabel unwrapped the tattered strips from her hands and dropped them to the floor. She walked over to her closet and pulled a duffle bag from the top shelf and opened it. She begun to pack it with outfits, just throwing shirts and jeans into the bag as well as other items that she might need. After she stuffed the bag full of clothes, Annabel looked around her room trying to decide if there was anything else she might need. There wasn't anything except for the notebook where she wrote the information about Clear in. She paused and ripped a sheet of paper out of the notebook and grabbed a pen to write a note on. Instead of writing a note to her parents explaining where she was, she wrote a note to Joshua, deciding that he would be the only one that would care where she was.   
After writing the note and placing it somewhere where she knew Joshua would look, if he came into her room when her parents discovered she was missing, Annabel slung her bag over her shoulder and snuck out the 'old-fashioned' way, through her window. As she threw her bag down before her, Annabel paused and reentered her room; she walked over to her desk and grabbed her wallet, which had about ten dollars in it. She knew that wouldn't be enough to get her to Long Island, but it was a start. She tucked the wallet in her pocket and jumped out of her window. Even though she lived on the second story, it wasn't a long way down and there was a bush to break her fall.   
Annabel groaned as she untangled herself from the bush and retrieved her bag. She brushed herself off and headed toward the Pasadena Bus Depot.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Three   
  
  
  
It was late morning by the time that Annabel's parents noticed that their daughter was missing. Her mother went up to Annabel's room to tell her that she was late for Randy's funeral and she'd better get ready or they were leaving her, when she realized that Annabel was gone.   
Upon further investigation, Annabel parents saw that Annabel was not only gone but she had run away; her clothes were gone, as was her duffle bag and the bushes below her window appeared as though they had been trampled or in this cased jumped on.   
Annabel's mother begun telephoning Annabel's friends -exactly she was just randomly calling people since she had no idea who Annabel's friends were- and her father was trying to find a note or anything that would clue them into where Annabel had gone off too.   
In twenty minutes, Courtnee and her husband had given up hope on finding their daughter. It seemed somewhat 'on cue' that Joshua showed up just as Courtnee threw the phonebook across the living room.   
When Derek let Joshua inside, Courtnee recognized him as 'that boy that Annabel was with.'   
Joshua was somewhat surprised -but not really- to discover that Annabel had run away.   
"Do you know where she could have gone?" Courtnee asked, after telling him to sit down on the couch.   
"No, not really." Joshua said and that was true. "She didn't leave a note or anything?" He asked.   
"No, not a single thing. You'd think she would, if she cared. She wants us to worry; no, she doesn't care about other people's…" Courtnee begun but Joshua cut her off.   
"Mrs. Tomas, I'm sure Annabel cares and I'm sure she left a note, you just aren't looking hard enough." Joshua said, defending Annabel from her mother's ranting.   
Courtnee fixed a stern glare on Joshua. "Well then, you are welcome to go look for one. I'm sure you know where her room is." Courtnee said, her voice dripping with venom.   
Joshua stood up and walked up the stairs to Annabel's room, opening her door and entered her room. The room looked like even more of a disaster than it had when Joshua had last visited Annabel. He guessed it was her parents doing; they had probably been looking for a note from their daughter.   
Joshua shut the door behind him and stood for a moment, in front of the door getting used to the silence of the room. Last time he had been in her room, he and Annabel had almost kissed; now the room was silent and Annabel-less.   
Joshua walked across her room and begun looking through the papers on her desk, it was possible that her parents simply over looked a note so he looked at every piece of paper. Buried under a mountain of papers was a newly published book called "Air Disasters"; Joshua could tell it was recently published because it said it was on the jacket of the book.   
Joshua picked up the book and opened to the table of contents; on page 180 was a section on Flight 180. Joshua turned to the page and tucked in the middle was a note written in Annabel's neat script. Joshua took the note out of the book and read it.   
"Dear Joshua,   
I figured you'd be the one to find a note, not my brain dead parents so I didn't bother to leave one for them. So, I'd appreciate that you don't tell them you found a note or where I'm going. I'm going to Long Island; I need to talk to somewhere there. I need to understand. Tell Nicolas where I am, maybe he can explain a little more.   
Love, Annabel."   
Joshua read the note over once more before he tucked it into his pocket. He walked back over to the door and left her room and headed back downstairs.   
Annabel's parents were waiting in the living room for him to return.   
"Did you find anything?" Her father asked, studying Joshua.   
"No, I didn't. She probably didn't leave a note." Joshua muttered and without another word he left the house.


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Four   
A Week Later   
  
  
  
  
The town where her Aunt and Uncle lived was a lot smaller than the town where she lived, Annabel thought as she thanked the person who had given her a ride. Annabel stretched her muscles and took a deep breath, taking in the sights. Not that there was much to take in.   
All the shops were pressed beside each other, cars lined the sidewalks but people mostly walked to get around the town. It was like any other small town, not much to see and Annabel didn't have time for sightseeing.   
Annabel shouldered her page -which held her clean clothes as well as the outfit she had worn the night she had run away; she had only had time to change once and that was in the bathroom of a bus depot in Missouri. She had attempted to change again in Indiana but then she realized she didn't have enough money for another bus ticket and she suddenly had bigger worries that changing clothes.   
She had, however, managed to get to Long Island intact and a week later but still worried and confused and nervous as she had been in Pasadena. She had even more questions to ask Clear; she had almost gotten killed or at least hurt twice on her way to Long Island by some sort of freak accident.   
Now she was more worried about finding Clear then asking her the questions; she had no idea where the hospital was the girl was. She also had no idea where she was going to stay; she couldn't stay with her aunt and uncle because they would call her parents and then they would make her aunt and uncle send her back. These were things she hadn't thought of in Pasadena.   
Annabel sighed and decided she looked stupid and out of place standing on the sidewalk, so she crossed the street and walked along the sidewalk. Maybe she could ask someone where the Harris Hospital was, it was worth a try.   
Annabel asked everyone she met on the sidewalk but no one seemed too interested in helping Annabel find the hospital. Annabel sighed and decided to give up, it was worthless; she slumped down on a wooden bench outside of a coffee shop and decided she'd better plan what she was going to do next.   
Annabel bowed her head and racked her brain for any ideas that might help her get back to Pasadena. She had just decided to go to her aunt and uncle's house when she felt a tap on her shoulder.   
Annabel looked up to see who tapped on her shoulder; the guy looked about twenty or so, maybe a little younger but not older. He had blackish-brown hair that was slicked back and he wore a white shirt, black jeans and an old faded letterman's jacket that was a little too small for him. Across the left shelve of the jacket was the word "Lincoln" in white letters on a red patch, across the right shelve was the name "Carter" in the same white letters and on the same red patch. Annabel guessed the guy's name was Carter, since she guessed the jacket belonged to him.   
"Yeah?" Annabel asked, wondering why "Carter" had tapped her.   
"Are you alright? I mean, you look a little down." The guy said and took a seat on the bench beside Annabel. The guy -to Annabel- was slightly arrogant, or he seemed that way.   
"I'm fine; just thinking." Annabel said, studying the guy. There wasn't much to see other then his good looks -which weren't that great- and his biceps, which proved he was active in some sort of sport.   
"I haven't seen you around before, you visiting?" He asked.   
He was friendly and talkative, Annabel thought, most guys -or girls for that matter- wouldn't just strike up a conversation with a complete stranger.   
"Exactly, I'm looking for someone. Somewhere, exactly. Um, Harris Hospital, do you know where that is? If you could just give me directions, that would be great." Annabel asked, hopeful that the guy would give her directions or at least point her in the right direction.   
"I could show you where it is, if you want. I don't really have any where to be, I can show you." He said.   
"That'd be great." Annabel said, flashing him a fake smile. Even though this guy was going to show her where the hospital, she just wanted to be rid of him.   
"My name is Carter, if you were wondering." He said and extended his hand. When Annabel didn't take it he withdraw it and tried to act casual about it.   
"Yeah, I saw on your jacket. My name's Annabel." Annabel said, standing up and slinging her bag over her shoulder.   
"Oh yeah." Carter said and stood up as well. "So, are you visiting or what? I mean, I noticed the bag." Carter asked as he begun to walk down the sidewalk with Annabel in tow.   
"I'm sort of visiting; I came to visit someone, I just got into town." Annabel said. "So, your jacket, did you used to play…" Annabel said, letting the last word hang.   
"Football, for my high school. I used to play but I don't any more." Carter said, as they crossed another street.   
"So, I'm guessing you're out of high school then. So, if you finished high school and used to play football why are you still hanging around here? I small town like this; I mean, you could have gotten a football scholarship right?" Annabel asked.   
Carter didn't answer for a while. Annabel figured she had touched on a sore subject so she decided to leave the question unanswered.   
The street they were walking down now was scare of people, it was dirtier then the other streets and most of the shops were closed and wrecked.   
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Annabel asked, looking around and biting her lip.   
"Yeah, the hospital is in the 'bad part of town'. Which is really only half a block away from the good part of town. We don't have much town here, as you've noticed." Carter said.   
"Oh." Annabel muttered and looked around her.   
"The hospital isn't much further from here, past here and past the woods; there's not much woods either." Carter said and motioned in front of them.   
The 'bad part of town' ended abruptly and gave way to woods. The woods were thin but still had plenty of woodsy trees. There was a vague path cut through the woods which Annabel guessed lead up to the hospital.   
She and Carter left the sidewalk and entered the woods. It wasn't a long walk until the hospital came in view.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Five   
  
  
  
  
The hospital was not was Annabel thought it would be; not in the least. For starts, it barely looked like a hospital anymore; at first glance it reminded Annabel for the hospital in the movie "House on Haunted Hill" after it got burned down. Only, this hospital was not as nice as the one in the movie. There was a chain link fence around the perimeter of the hospital that didn't even look like a fence; there was lots of missing links and some of the fence was falling over, scraping the grass. Not that there was much grass; the fence gave way to a "door" that looked like someone had taken hedge clippers and hacked a big hole in the fence. It wasn't like a real door with metal hinges and stuff, it was a hole. The path to the main entrance to the hospital was dirt and was cluttered with rocks, glass, twigs and gravel. Annabel wouldn't want to walk along it in the dark barefoot. The hospital wasn't glamorous either -but I think I already mentioned that- it looked like it was falling apart; the windows were clouded and barred, some where broken and looked as though someone took a sheet of cardboard and taped it over the holes in the windows. There were small holes in the side of the building as well that had ravens nesting in them, which meant the walls were streaked with bird droppings and other things that Annabel couldn't identify.   
"Not much of a sight is it?" Carter asked, noticing Annabel's disgust, which she wasn't even aware showed.   
"This is Harris Hospital?" Annabel asked, surprised that this hospital could even still be in business.   
"Yeah. I can't believe this place is still running but yeah this is it. Just go up to the front gate and tell them you need to see someone, they'll let you in." Carter said.   
"You're not coming with me?" Annabel asked, looking up at Carter.   
"You're on your own, chica. Count me out, I'll wait here for you though." Carter shook his head.   
"Okay." Annabel muttered. "If I'm not back in an hour, come look for me." Annabel said, sounding like Clarice Starling in "The Silence of the Lambs" and knowing it.   
Annabel left Carter at the hole and walked down the path, the gravel crunching beneath her feet and the glass cracking. She walked up the front entrance and knocked on the large, thick metal door.   
It opened with a groan and an orderly in a white outfit opened the door. "Yes?" She asked, studying Annabel with disgust.   
"Yeah hi. I need to visit someone." Annabel said, doing exactly what Carter had told her to.   
"Are they expecting you?" The orderly asked.   
"No, but it's really important." Annabel said, hoping that they would let her in.   
"All right." The orderly said and stepped aside to let Annabel enter. Annabel entered and almost wished she hadn't; the hospital inside was even worse then it was outside. The paint was peeling off the walls and the ground was in bad need of a mopping or some disinfectant.   
The rooms were nice, or they looked nice from the outside. There was a single window in the middle of the doors so that you could see inside the rooms; each room had a single bed pressed against the wall and another window against the far side.   
"And who are you looking for, exactly?" The orderly asked.   
"Clear. Clear something-or-other." Annabel answered, muttering the last part.   
The orderly nodded as though she knew exactly whom Annabel was talking about. Annabel guessed she did since there couldn't be many people named Clear in the same hospital; there couldn't be many people named Clear period.   
The orderly lead Annabel to the very end of a long hall and pulled eyes from her pocket. "She hasn't had much visitors, in fact she hasn't had any visitors except for a young man who visited her when she first came here but no one has come for a while." The orderly said and unlocked the door.   
Annabel slowly stepped inside the room; Clear was seated in a rickety wooden chair by the window. She didn't even turn around to acknowledge that anyone had entered.   
From the back, Annabel took in Clear's features; her hair was a dirty blonde color and fell down her back messily. Her skin was fair but slightly tan that showed that it was once tan but lack of sun had made her lose the tan-ness.   
"Miss Rivers, you have a visitor." The orderly said.   
Clear turned around and tried to hide the look of surprise upon seeing Annabel, it was clear that she had no idea who her visitor was. If the orderly saw this, she didn't let on; without a word the orderly exited the room, leaving Annabel and Clear alone.   
"Your last name is Rivers?" Annabel asked, thinking that it was sort of 'funny' to be named 'Clear Rivers'.   
"Yeah, ha ha. It was my parent's idea. Can I help you?" Clear asked, her voice seemed to suggest that she was bored but happy to have a visitor.   
"I hope so. My name's Annabel, I know that you don't know me but I'm Alex's cousin." Annabel said, choosing her words carefully.   
Clear's face remained still but her eyes darted around as though she was working things out. "What can I do for you; there has to be some reason you came here." Clear said, her voice full of emotions Annabel couldn't decipher.   
"Yeah, this my be sort of hard to believe but hear me out before you start to talk." Annabel said and begun to tell Clear every thing that happened started with the overhang collapsing and ending with Cody's death.   
Once Annabel was finished, the two sat in silence; Annabel hoped that Clear would be able to help her and not think she was crazy.   
"I'm sorry." Clear whispered. "I can't help you." She turned her head back to the window.   
Annabel bit her lip; her entire trip here had been a waste. And what was worse, Annabel could tell Clear knew what she was talking about and could help her but she chose not to.   
Annabel stood up. "Fine, great. I came all the way from Pasadena to see you. I rode a bus for three days and hitchhiked the rest of the way, just to see you and now you won't help me. That's great." Annabel said, her voice dripping with venom.   
Annabel walked toward the door and reached for the door handle. She opened the door and was about to step out.   
"Wait." Clear said, her voice causing Annabel to turn around.


	27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Six   
  
  
  
  
"They just let you out of the hospital?" Carter asked as Annabel and Clear joined him at the hole in the fence.   
"I'm sure they were more then happy to get rid of me." Clear answered and gave Carter and quick hug.   
"Wait, you two know each other?" Annabel asked, confused.   
"Yeah, old friends." Carter answered.   
Clear shot him a look that suggested 'old' wasn't the correct word but didn't say anything. "Do you know who Annabel is?" Clear asked, her face becoming serious again.   
"Annabel is….Annabel no I have no idea who she is." Carter said, trying to sound smart but failing.   
"She's Alex's cousin." Clear said, nearly whispering the words to Carter.   
Carter looked surprised at first but quickly brushed the look off his face with an 'I knew that' sort of look and studying Annabel like Clear had just told him that she was the missing Princess of Paris. If there even was a princess in Paris, Annabel thought.   
"What's the big deal?" Annabel asked, surprised that both Clear and Carter cared so much about it.   
"Does she, I mean can she…?" Carter asked and Clear nodded and quickly related bits of the story Annabel hold told her to Carter. Many things Clear left out and only told Carter the most important things like the overhang collapsing and the deaths of Randy, Sara and Cody.   
"So, is that why you came here? Why?" Carter asked, it was clear he was jittery in Annabel's presence all of the sudden.   
"I just hoped Clear would be able to help me but so far you both have just made me more confused." Annabel answered.   
"We need to go somewhere and sort this out, do you have somewhere to stay Annabel?" Clear asked, looking at her.   
"No, I didn't think of that." Annabel answered.   
"Okay, I think I know somewhere where we can go." Clear said.   
"Whoa, you can count me out. I'm not dealing with this again, now that Alex is gone I'm next so I'm getting as far away from you and anyone related to Alex as I possibly can. Have fun Clear, welcome to Long Island Annabel." Carter said and without another word or backward glance he turned and left the two.   
"What's his problem?" Annabel asked, even more confused then before.   
"It's a long story, I'll tell you on the way." Clear said and begun walking back through the woods. Annabel walked beside her, listening as Clear began to tell Annabel abut everything that happened a year ago.


	28. Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Seven   
  
  
  
"This place is...is quaint." Annabel muttered as she stared at the cabin in front of her. The cabin was in better shape then the hospital at least; the shingles from the roof were rotted and falling off and the front window had been broken by a fallen tree branch.   
"Yeah, it's a real fixer-upper I know but it'll have to do. My dad and my mom and I used to come here when I was little, so you can guess how old it is." Clear said and pushed the front door open.   
The door swung open and then fell off its hinges. Annabel stared at the door as it thudded to the ground.   
"A real fixer-upper." Clear repeated and walked inside.   
Annabel followed her, stepping over the rotted door and into the cabin. The house looked like someone had 'baby-proofed' it but had done a horrible job. Stray nails in the walls were covered with corks and things were taped to the wall with duck tape. In the fireplace were balled up newspaper pages that someone had thrown in; a rusted lantern rested on the ground near the fireplace beside a paper from a year ago.   
As Annabel looked around, Clear begun to place things together. "Alex must have done this." She muttered, more to herself than to Annabel.   
"So, we're going to stay here?" Annabel asked, moving from room to room. The other rooms weren't as safety-tized as the first room was. There were two bedrooms in the cabin, the beds were made but the sheets were covered with dust and leaves that had blown in through broken windows.   
"We don't really have a choice. It's not that bad now is it?" Clear asked as Annabel came back to join her in the living room.   
"The door fell off." Annabel pointed out.   
"So, we'll fix it." Clear muttered.   
"Um, Clear, I hate to break up the little girl-party but its not like I'm going to be living here for a long time. I just came here so you can help me understand everything, and you telling me that story didn't help. So, as soon as I understand I'm outta here and you're going to be here by yourself. Sorry if that sounded harsh or anything." Annabel said.   
Clear didn't seem to be offended by Annabel's words. "Okay well, until then it's spend the night sleep tight and I don't plan to sleep with no door." Clear said.   
Annabel knew she had a point but she still wasn't looking forward to staying in the cabin, even if the door hadn't fallen off. "All right." She muttered and walked over to join Clear at the refrigerator. It was bare, which meant a shopping trip, which meant heading back to town.   
Almost as though she could read Annabel's mind, Clear announced that they needed to go back into town, which was just fine with Annabel.   
The two headed back out again, stepping over the door and taking the path back into town.


	29. Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Eight   
  
  
  
  
Annabel decided to wait outside while Clear went into the grocery store to get some food. Annabel attempted to busy herself by playing mental games like 'I Spy' which really didn't work since she knew what she was looking for, while she waited for Clear. Clear had said she might be in the store for a while but Annabel insisted on waiting outside, though she didn't know why.   
"I Spy…." She muttered under her breath, roaming her eyes around the streets and storefronts. "Someone that looks like Joshua." She said, trailing her words as her eyes fixed on someone who looked like Joshua. On further glance, Annabel realized that it was Joshua and he had Nicolas beside him; they were arguing over something.   
At first, Annabel didn't believe that it really was Joshua and Nicolas, why would they be here, in Long Island, when they should be in Pasadena, in school. However, here they were in Long Island, arguing over something. Why were they here? Annabel repeated the question in her mind. Unless, they were looking for her.   
Annabel stood up and crossed the street to join Joshua and Nicolas, who couldn't have been happier to see her.   
"Annabel." Joshua said and hugged her tightly. She hugged him back, happy to see a familiar face. "We almost thought we were in the wrong place." Joshua said when he broke the hug.   
"I told you she came here." Nicolas muttered, trying not to make it seem like he was happy to say 'I told you so.'   
"What are you guys doing here?" Annabel asked.   
"We came looking for you." Nicolas answered.   
"I left a week ago, what took you guys so long? You didn't travel the way I did, I hope." Annabel asked.   
"It took us until yesterday to convince our parents that we needed to come here on a 'school trip'. They bought us the plane tickets and well, here we are." Joshua answered.   
"I wish I had had money for a plane ticket." Annabel muttered.   
"How did you get here?" Nicolas asked.   
"Let's not talk about it." Annabel said, trying to shrug it off because she didn't really want to explain everything to them.   
"Do my parents know I'm here?" Annabel asked, suddenly remembering.   
"No, they don't have the slightest idea." Joshua said, smiling at Annabel.   
"Thanks." She said and gave him a quick kiss.   
Joshua just shrugged sheepishly and Nicolas looked slightly jealous but Annabel decided to let it drop.   
"So, what's going on? You find whoever you were looking for?" Joshua asked.   
"Yeah, she's inside buying food." Annabel answered.   
The three of them crossed the street and sat down on the bench where Annabel had been sitting when she was waiting for Clear.   
"So, Annabel, you got any new insights on what's been happening?" Joshua asked, the way he spoke made his words sound like a joke, like he was mocking Annabel.   
Annabel decided not to answer his question, leaving the three of them to sit on the weather worn bench in silence waiting for Clear.   
  
When Clear finally did emerge from the store, she was struggling under the weight of a few grocery bags. Annabel jumped up to help her, relieved to get away from the oppressive silence that had settled among she, Nicolas and Joshua.   
Annabel took two of the bags from Clear, leaving the women with two bags each. Without her vision blocked by the bags, she looked over at Joshua and Nicolas -who had also stood up.   
"I do believe introductions are to be made." Clear whispered to Annabel.   
"Right, this is Joshua and Nicolas." She said to Clear, pointing to them. "And this is Clear." Annabel said to the two boys.   
There were brief 'nice to meet you's before the four of them begun walking in the direction of Clear's dilapidated cabin. Joshua took one of the bags from Annabel; Clear asked Joshua and Nicolas a few questions, surprised that they had come all the way from California to find Annabel.   
  
When the group reached Clear's cabin, it was evident that Joshua and Nicolas were surprised by the cabin's condition, even though they tried to hide it.   
"You're staying here?" Joshua asked, his disgust apparent.   
"Yeah, great isn't it?" Annabel asked and walked through the hole in the cabin, stepping over the door.   
The other three followed in suit and Nicolas offered to help repair the door. He and Clear worked at it while Annabel and Joshua watched until they finally gave up and settled on taping a bedspread over the hole with duck tape.   
Once that was done, Clear joined Annabel at the table, her easy-going look disappeared and was replaced by a more serious, foreboding one. Clear locked eyes with Annabel as she began to speak.   
"I need you to tell me everything that happened, from the day you left to go to the airport until the time you met Carter here, in Long Island." Clear commanded.   
Annabel begun the story, trying not to leave anything out; when she did she backtracked and placed the detail in with the rest of the story. By the time she finished, Joshua and Nicolas had seated themselves at the table as well and were entranced in her story.   
Clear sat in silence; it was clear she was working the story over in her head, playing the important details over and discarding the not so important ones.   
Without a word, Clear got up and rummaged around in one of the kitchen draws and pulled out a pad of paper and a dust-covered pencil. Annabel watched Clear closely as she begun to write things down on the paper.   
Annabel stood up and walked over to stand behind Clear so she could read what Clear was writing.   
On the paper, Clear had written the names: Annabel, Randy, Sara, Nicolas and Cody. She begun to arrange them in the order they had died, putting Annabel's name at the end of the list.   
"See, I think we're experiencing some sort of deju-vu here. See, when Alex predicted the plane crash seven of us -including him- got off the plane." Clear wrote the names of the seven on the paper: Alex, Tod, Terri, Carter, Ms. Lewton, Billy and Clear.   
"Then, thirty-nine days later, Tod died," Clear rewrote the name Tod on a new line. "Then Terri, Ms. Lewton and then it was Carter's 'turn'. However, Alex was able to 'step in' and save him. Then it was Billy; then it was me but Alex intervened and saved me at the cost of his own life. That left Carter and I alive.   
You see, you saw the overhang collapse and you, Randy and Sara got out of the car and didn't die. Then, a few weeks later Randy died; you have a 'vision' of him getting killed. Then Sara died and you had another 'vision' of her getting killed; as well as Cody. You see…" Clear continued but Annabel cut her off.   
"Okay, I think I follow you so far. I think I understand why Randy and Sara died because I sorta stepped in and kept all three of us from dying. They were just getting what they should have before. But that doesn't really explain why Cody died; I mean, yeah, she and Nicolas left the airport because they saw me but I didn't directly tell them to get out of the car. So why did Cody die?" Annabel asked.   
Clear was surprised that Annabel seemed to understand what she had fought so hard to understand a year ago. However, Annabel was related to Alex, perhaps that was why she was able to understand.   
"You didn't directly tell Cody and Nicolas not to go but they didn't go because they saw you. So, its like the same thing." Clear answered, trying to fully understand everything.   
Nicolas and Joshua were also standing behind Clear. Now Nicolas picked the pad up and studied it.   
"Why did you put my name after Cody's?" He asked Clear, indicating that his name was indeed after his sisters.   
"I don't mean to sound morbid or anything but the way I see it, you're next because as the vision-haver, I think that Annabel's last. Like Alex was. The only problem is that Alex was last by design, I'm not so sure about here." Clear muttered. "We'll just have to see."


	30. Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty   
  
  
  
Later that night, once the sun had set and the moonlight washed down on the smooth waters of the lake, Carter paid the inhabitants of Clear's run down cabin a visit.   
"I figured I'd find you here." Carter said as he brushed the blanket aside and entered the cabin.   
He was slightly surprised to find Nicolas among the four that seemed to be refugees hiding in secret. However, their greetings were quick and not very heartfelt, it was obvious Carter had other intentions of visiting.   
After having a whispered talk with Clear, the two decided to take a short walk to "talk a little more and clear our heads" as Carter said.   
They left the cabin and Annabel could hear the engine of a car start up and figured that Carter had driven out to the cabin.   
Joshua, Nicolas and Annabel fell into an uncomfortable silence -not that there had been much talking before- and traded semi-uncomfortable looks.   
With a yawn, Annabel stretched herself out on the couch and realized that she hadn't sleep more then an hour since she left California. She lay her head on one of the pillows and closed her eyes.   
  
And she dreamt.   
Annabel wasn't there but she could see; Carter was there but Clear was gone, she wasn't with him. Carter lay on the sidewalk or road in a pool of blood that Annabel guessed was his own. His face was cut to ribbons (or close to that) and there were shards of glass all over, some piercing his body others lying on his body. There was also glass around his corpse, mixed in with the blood. His letterman's jacket was soaked with blood; his eyes stared, open, looking into nothing. His car was parked beside his corpse, the motor running and the keys jammed into the ignition. The car radio was playing the song "Don't Fear the Reaper" by some guy whose name Annabel couldn't think of.   
Carter was dead and Clear was not there; Annabel didn't know if she was dead also or if she had just left. Carter was dead.


	31. Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One   
  
  
  
  
Annabel awoke with a start; for a second she couldn't remember where she was but as soon as she saw Joshua's concerned face she remembered, everything.   
Annabel sat up with a start. "Clear and Carter are in 'trouble'." She said and stood up.   
"What?" Nicolas asked, surprised.   
Joshua stood up and looked at her as though he understood. "Did you see it? Dream it?" He asked.   
Annabel nodded and headed toward the "door". "We have to go, now." She commanded.   
Joshua and Nicolas followed her; Annabel swept the blanket back with a quick motion and stepped into the cool Long Island spring night.   
"We're going to walk? And how will we find them? We have no clue where they are." Nicolas pointed out.   
Annabel somewhat ignored him and kept walking. "Just trust me on this one." She said, not granting him a backward glance.   
Without another word, the trio walked into the night, following a leader who wasn't sure in herself but was in too much of a hurry to question.   
Within ten minutes, they had made it to the town, which was deathly silent. Annabel shuddered and whipped her head from left to right, trying to find Clear or Carter. The only sound was the wind blowing through the night; Annabel's black hair was blown slightly, playing in her face as though teasing her.   
Annabel tucked the lose strands behind her ears and listened harder, anything to give them a clue where Clear and Carter were. Anything.   
The wind blew again and the sounds of a radio faintly reached Annabel's ears. She whipped her head in that direction and listened again. The radio was playing to her left; more likely than not, that's where Clear and Carter were.   
Annabel, Joshua and Nicolas ran down the street to their left, the wind whipping in their faces.   
Parked near a street light was Carter's car, Annabel could see Carter and Clear inside. They were obviously arguing about something, Clear seemed a bit calmer then Carter, who seemed slightly scared.   
Joshua joined Annabel's side, resting his hand on her shoulder. Annabel turned her head to face him.   
"What do we do now?" He asked her, his eyes locking with hers.   
Annabel couldn't answer his question; even if she could she wouldn't have had time because Nicolas spoke.   
"They don't look like they're in trouble to me." He said, his voice slightly tinged with cruelty.   
Before anyone had a chance to speak, Clear turned her head and met eyes with Annabel. Carter turned his head also, as though trying to see what Clear was looking at. When Carter saw Annabel he slammed his hand down onto the dashboard and opened the car door with a jerk.   
Clear followed him out of the car, attempting to talk to him but he ignored her; Carter walked over to Annabel and stood in front of her.   
Before Carter could speak, Clear joined his side. "Carter, now calm down." She suggested, looking over at Annabel.   
"Why should I? She's just like Alex; every time she's around something back is going to happen. Someone's going to die. I don't' wanna go back there; I'm not going to die just because some 'freak' keeps hanging around me!" Carter yelled.   
At first Annabel was stung by his words but that felling quickly disappeared and she scowled at him. "You think I'm causing this?" She spat, trying to keep her voice from rising.   
Clear stepped in, going to stand beside Annabel. "Carter just calm down. You know this isn't Annabel's fault!" Clear said.   
Carter's eyes darted around and he let out a deep breath. "Okay, you're right; Alex intervened and it skipped me. Why should I worry anyway?" Carter asked, though it was more of a statement than a question. He shrugged his shoulders and tried to act easy-going, as though nothing was bothering him.   
He turned away from the four of them, heading back to his car. The car's motor was running and the radio was playing; the song ended and a new one began. It took Annabel a second to realize that the song playing was "Don't Fear the Reaper."   
Annabel's brow knitted as she thought for a second, thoughts swarming around in her head.   
She was startled by a strange popping noise; she looked up to see what was making the noise. She could see nothing in the air that could possibly be making the noise. The stars were slightly blacked out by the orange glow of a streetlight that hung over the passenger side of Carter's car.   
Annabel blinked and focused on the streetlight; the light was flickering and made a startling snapping sound. Electricity seemed to be jumping around inside the glass dome; the sparks hit the glass and it cracked.   
Annabel looked down to see where Carter was; if he were on the drivers' side or in the car he wouldn't be hurt, by whatever planned to hurt him.   
However Carter wasn't on the drivers' side; he was over at the passenger side, closing the door that Clear had left open.   
The light popped again and more of the glass cracked.   
"Carter, watch out!" Annabel cried.   
Almost as if on cue, the glass dome shattered into some very large pieces. Carter looked over at Annabel and then looked up but it was too late to do anything but stare. The glass pierced Carter's skin like knifes; the glass sliced through his face, piercing his skull. Carter's body slumped to the ground, glass shards sticking out of his corpse; his body landed in his own blood.   
Clear let out a strangled scream that seemed mixed with a sob. Annabel felt her eyes go wide with shock and surprise, once again she had been right. She had seen Carter's death before it happened. Maybe Carter was right, maybe being around her doomed everyone.   
Clear was first to snap everyone out of their shock. "We gotta get out of here." She commanded and ran over to Carter's still running car.   
"Don't Fear the Reaper" was still blaring on the radio; Annabel would remember the words to that song as long as she lived, they would be implanted in her brain no matter how hard she tried to get rid of them.   
Annabel, Joshua and Nicolas ran over to Carter's car as well; Annabel sidestepped Carter's corpse as she climbed into the passenger side.   
On second thought, she climbed over the armrest in the middle of the car and into the backseat. Joshua joined her and Nicolas climbed into the passenger seat. Clear fully turned the ignition and put the car in reverse.   
The car pulled away from Carter's corpse, trying to outrun something they had no control over.


	32. Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Two   
  
  
  
Annabel had no clue where they were headed as Clear pressed her foot harder on the gas pedal. However, where they were going was the last question on Annabel's mind.   
"What just happened? I mean, I don't mean to disrespect your 'idea' about what exactly is going on with me but I didn't save Carter from the collapsing overhang!" Annabel said, her voice straining.   
"I know but I think I have it figured out now. Finally." Clear muttered and hit the car's break. The car screeched to a halt and Annabel was nearly choked by the seatbelt.   
"Please explain." Joshua muttered.   
"All right, Carter and I skipped Death once before and I think with you we've been worked back into the plan. Death isn't finished with us, any of us. I mean, the way I see it, no one in this car is safe." Clear said, unbuckling her seatbelt and turning around to face Annabel.   
"Whoa, I don't like that plan. Why not?" Joshua asked.   
"Yeah, Joshua didn't have anything to do with the overhang or the airplane, why isn't he safe?" Annabel asked.   
"The same reason why Carter and I aren't safe, we've cheated Death before and we've been added back into the plan." Clear answered.   
"Cheated Death before?" Joshua repeated. "But I haven't; I haven't walked off an airplane and like Annabel said I wasn't anywhere near the airport that day." Joshua added, his voice sounding somewhat worried.   
The car was silent for a beat before Clear said, "Everyone's cheated Death before, just not in ways 'that' big. You mean to tell me your mother has never run a red light and barely missed oncoming cars? Or that you've never slipped in the shower and just barely caught yourself before your skull bashed into the side of the wall?"   
Annabel's eyes darted nervously in her head as she thought about what Clear had said; she had a point, now that Annabel thought about it.   
Joshua didn't seem as calm about Clear's words as Annabel and Nicolas did. "Are you trying to tell me that I'm doomed because I'm around Annabel now?" Joshua yelled.   
As though accenting his words there was a large crash of thunder. Annabel hadn't even noticed the sky clouding over but she hadn't really been paying attention. Everyone in the car looked around, slightly worried and skittish. Everything now was a possible Death Threat -for lack of better words; everything held some potential in ending their lives.   
Joshua seemed to sense this even more; he climbed over the middle armrest and unlocked the doors to the car and opened the drivers' side door. Instead of climbing out of the car like Annabel expected, Joshua shoved Clear out of the car and sat in the drivers seat.   
"Are you crazy?" Nicolas asked as Joshua slammed his foot on the gas pedal.   
"I'm getting us out of here and somewhere safe." Joshua said, though he seemed more to be talking to himself then to Annabel or Nicolas.   
"You're crazy." Annabel muttered and unseat-belted herself. She leaned over the back of the drivers seat and attempted to keep Joshua's foot off the pedal.   
There was a crash of thunder and a spark of lightening as Annabel managed to keep Joshua from pressing his foot on the pedal.   
The car screeched to a halt and bounced a little as it stopped on railroad tracks. The halt of the car knocked off what little balance Annabel head and jerked her backward. Her head knocked on the rear-windshield of the car as her body collided with the seat. Annabel saw stars and blacked out for a few seconds, stunned by the surprised blow.   
Joshua cursed and climbed out of the car; he slammed the drivers' door hard enough to shake the car. Joshua turned around to see Clear running as fast as she could toward the car.   
There was another flash of lightening but instead of being at a distance like it was before, the lightening struck the trunk of a nearby tree. The tree snapped and fell toward the car; Joshua had to hurriedly dodge the tree before it crashed down onto the car.   
Annabel let out a surprised scream as the car smashed through the windshield as though it were paper. In the front of the car, she could hear Nicolas utter a surprised groan as the tree pinned him to his seat.   
Annabel struggled to free herself as lightening struck the ground, nearer to the car. She heard a popping noise and begun to feel some sort of heat as she attempted to free herself. It took her a second to realize that the lightening had ignited a patch of dry grass and the flames were licking the crushed car.   
Outside the car, Annabel could hear Clear calling her name and yelling out instructions to her such as 'tell us where you are and we'll pull you out' and 'stay calm'. Annabel pulled herself out from under the tree and climbed through one of the jagged holes in what used to be the hood of the car.   
Joshua helped her climb down and held her tight as she attempted to tell them that Nicolas was still in the car. The fire had surrounded the car as well as most of the bushes and grass around it.   
"If we don't get him out of there now, he'll die." Clear muttered.   
"It's his turn then! Don't risk your life for him!" Joshua yelled as Clear ran over to Nicolas's side of the car.   
Ignoring Joshua's desperate pleas, Annabel followed Clear and joined her. Nicolas was trying to tell Clear exactly where he was buried under the car but it was hard to see him.   
The firewall was getting taller and hotter but Annabel wasn't going to just leave Nicolas trapped. She begun breaking off branches and tossing them aside; Clear begun to help her and soon they could see Nicolas. They grabbed a hold of his arms and begun to tug him out. The task seemed impossible; Annabel's arms felt like they were on fire as she tugged on Nicolas's trapped body.   
"Joshua, help!" Annabel managed to choke out between strained gasps.   
"No way." Annabel could hear him reply.   
Annabel grunted and felt the flames lick her bare legs and her arms; Clear groaned in exertion but it was obvious that neither of the girls were going to give up.   
After what seemed like forever -but was really only ten minutes- Annabel could feel Nicolas's body giving way. With a groan, Nicolas slid free; the three of them toppled backward and not a moment too soon. The car exploded, sending pieces of metal showering down upon the ground.   
Annabel shielded her face with her arms as the heat charred the arms on her arms. When the fire seemingly died down, Annabel uncovered her face and looked around; panting beside her was Clear, her hair slightly charred but she was otherwise fine. Nicolas seemed more surprised then anything; when he caught Annabel looking at him, he forced a smile, attempting to show the gratitude he felt.   
Annabel looked in front of her to see Joshua looking down at the debris the car had left. He refused to look at Annabel, Clear and Nicolas though Annabel could feel his eyes on her.   
"That was a really brave thing you did." Annabel whispered to Clear, granting her a smile.   
Clear let out a little laugh. "Me? You were pretty brave yourself." Clear muttered.   
"Well, I don't think it was brave. I think it was stupid; really stupid!" Joshua said, looking up and locking eyes with Annabel. "Come on Annabel, you could have gotten killed! After everything that Clear just said you go and basically throw yourself in a burning car for someone else! It was obviously his time; you should have.." Joshua continued but Annabel cut him off.   
"Let him burn? Oh yeah, I could live with myself after that!" Annabel yelled back, standing up and looking like she was going to walk toward him.   
"At least you could have lived." Joshua muttered. "But fine, throw yourself in a burning car. You're not takin' me with you!" Joshua snapped.   
Before anyone could say anything else there was another crack of lightening; this one was closer then any of the other strikes. The bolt hit one of the larger, knife-like, pieces of the destroyed car and launched it into the air. The piece flew like a discus toward Joshua and sliced through Joshua's neck. His eyes clouded over and his head dropped to the ground.   
Annabel let out a surprised gasp and sucked in a breath. With a mournful sigh, she collapsed to the ground, once again unconscious. 


	33. Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three   
  
  
  
  
Annabel awoke with a sour taste in her mouth and a searing pain in her head. She opened her eyes and moaned, for a second not realizing where she was. She lay on a bed in a small room, covered with a dusty quilt. After a second, she remembered where she was -in one of the bedroom in Clear's cabin- and remembered everything that happened. Annabel let out a mournful sigh and buried her face in the dusty pillow and tried to force the sight of Joshua from her mind. It felt so unreal how everything was happening; first Randy, then Sara, then Cody, then Carter and now Joshua.   
Annabel took her head away from her pillow and blinked her eyes. She listened to the quietness of the house around her and wondered if Clear and Nicolas were up or even if they were in the house. Annabel held her breath and listened; after a few minutes she could hear the clanking of pots and pans, which meant someone was cooking. Which meant she wasn't the only one in the house.   
Annabel climbed out of the bed and walked out of the small room; Clear was in the kitchen -attempting to cook- and Nicolas was seated on the couch, flipping through TV channels with the "mute" on.   
When Annabel entered the kitchen, Clear turned around and smiled. "You're up, finally. We didn't want to wake you, after last night and all." Clear said and motioned to the table behind her. "Pancakes?" She asked.   
Annabel grimaced and shook her head; food was the last thing she wanted right now. She walked out of the kitchen and joined Nicolas on the couch.   
Nicolas looked over at Annabel and smiled, though it was more of a halfhearted smile. Annabel attempted to return the smile but couldn't bring herself to do so.   
Clear came over a joined the two on the couch. She turned to face Annabel, her face was suddenly serious.   
"You know, we should really talk about what happened last night because I think you have a.." Clear began but Annabel cut her off.   
"I don't want to talk about last night! I want to forget about last night and I want everything to go back to the way it was but that obviously is never going to happen!" Annabel yelled, feeling her voice rise with every word.   
"Annabel, I think your gift is more powerful then Alex's was. I think you should try to learn how to use it.." Clear started but was once again cut off by Annabel.   
"I don't want to learn how to use it! I don't even want the 'gift'; how can you call it that?" Annabel said, trying to keep her voice level but not doing a very good job.   
"Annabel." Nicolas said, interrupting what Clear was about to say. Annabel turned around to face Nicolas. "All I have to say is that without you, I would be dead. You've saved my life twice.." Nicolas attempted to calm Annabel down.   
Annabel, however, wasn't in the mood to be calmed down. Without another word she leapt to her feet and hurried out of the cabin, sweeping the sheet behind her.   
Nicolas and Clear watched her go, both trying to think of what to do next.   
Nicolas turned to face Clear. "What did you mean when you said you thought Annabel was more powerful then Alex? From what I've heard, the predicting death thing is pretty much the same." Nicolas asked.   
"Well, not exactly. From what Alex told me he only knew who was next. From what Annabel's told me, she not only knows who's next but she also knows how they're going to die." Clear answered, her mind racing with what to do next.   
Annabel could be in danger herself, after all they had no idea who was going to be next. It could be Annabel or it could be me, Clear thought. 


	34. Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four   
  
  
  
For the rest of the day, Annabel had been missing; Clear was beginning to fear the worst. However, Nicolas refused to believe that anything had happened to Annabel.   
"I'm going to go look for her." Nicolas said finally as the sun was beginning to set behind the cabin, painting the sky blood red with its hues.   
"Good luck." Clear muttered as Nicolas slipped outside of the cabin.   
  
Annabel stared blankly at the sunset in front of her; the colors washed over her face and made her hair shine with an unusual luster. Annabel, however, didn't see the sunset for its beauty; it seemed to be mocking her with its blood color. She had seen tons of sunsets and never once had she seen a sunset with a red color like the one that painted across the sky at that moment. She had been away from the cabin all day, trying to avoid what could not be avoided. Annabel, however, refused to give in to the thought that there was no way she could win. She had lost everyone she cared about but she wasn't about to give up; her losses seemed to make her stronger. However, Annabel was finding herself not stronger but weaker and number. It was as though nothing matter anymore and nothing could hurt her. Annabel didn't care that she had 'changed', she didn't care.   
  
Once Nicolas had left the cabin and was headed toward the town, he began to regret leaving Clear alone. If Clear right -and she probably was due to recent events- about the whole Death's Plan thing then what if she was next. What if leaving her alone triggered her death? Annabel was the only one who could see Death in the future and she was missing. Nicolas had to find her before he could let himself worry about Clear.   
  
Annabel clamored to feet and stretched her tight limbs. She had to go back to the cabin, she didn't know why but she had to. Annabel looked back over at the sky, back toward the fading sunset. The moon was beginning to show in the light purple colored sky, washing out a few stars. Annabel looked up at the moon, which looked unusually clear at the moment. It looked so clear that Annabel almost believed that if she were to look at it closer, she would see her reflection. A clear moon, Annabel thought, I've never seen one before.   
Before Annabel could think anymore on the clear moon, the moon's whiteness was washed out by the red of the sunset. The sunset washing out that moon was also something Annabel had never seen before. The redness of the sunset seemed to drip onto the clear moon like blood. Annabel stared at the sky, wide eyed with surprise.   
She gasped, suddenly realizing that she had just had another vision -despite the fact that she tried to ignore her vision. The moon was clear but was now covered with a blood red light. Clear was next.   
Without another thought, Annabel turned and ran in the direction of the cabin. 


	35. Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five   
  
  
  
Clear sighed and through the magazine she had been reading onto the kitchen counter in front of her. Nicolas had been gone almost half an hour and now it was completely dark. Clear hoped he would be able to find Annabel, if she was still alive, and bring her back to the cabin. Clear was surprised by how worried she had gotten about Annabel, almost like they were sisters. As long as Annabel was all right it didn't matter if she tried to understand her ability.   
Clear decided to busy herself by doing something useful. She finally decided that she would make hot chocolate for Nicolas and Annabel when they returned. She walked over to the pantry and pulled out a box of Nestle Carnation hot chocolate and opened it.   
She took tow packets out and returned the box to the pantry; she carried the bags back over to the counter and set them down. She walked over to the top cupboard beside the refrigerator. She pulled out two cups and shut the cupboard door. Clear set the cups on the counter and turned to face the freezer. She opened the freezer door and peered inside.   
Resting, nestled among ice and over-frozen frozen TV dinners, was an almost full bottle of vodka. Clear thought for a minute and then pulled the bottle out, just in case she wanted some later, though she doubted she would.   
Clear carried the bottle and the two cups over to where she had set the paper packets. Clear uncorked the bottle of vodka but left it open on the counter beside the packets. The packets were close to a knife block, the black handles rose up from the brown wooden block.   
Clear studied the knifes for a few more seconds before she took her vision away from them. She walked over to the gas oven and turned it on; she took down a small pot from a rung above the stove.  
She carried the pot back over to the sink and filled it with water. Carefully, Clear carried the pot filled with water back over to the stove. As she passed by the spot on the counter where she had left the packets, some of the water sloshed out of the pot. It hit the floor with a splash; Clear looked down and frowned.   
She finished carrying the pot over to the stove, setting in on one of the burners, and turned around to get a towel to clean the water up with. Clear carefully avoided the water and walked across the kitchen to get a dishrag.   
As Clear picked up the dishrag she remembered she had forgotten to light the burner on the over. She rummaged in a draw and pulled out a book of matches. Clear pulled one of the matches out of the book and struck it against the side. The match lit with a hiss and the red tip began to glow with heat.   
Clear carried the match and the dishrag over toward the stove. As she walked, Clear forgot about mopping the water off the floor. As she neared the place where the packets, bottle and knifes were, her bare foot touched the water.   
Clear went sliding forward; the match fell from her hand and hit the stove. The stove ignited with a "boom" and fire shot forward. Clear's hand flayed forward, desperately trying to grab a hold of something to keep her from falling.   
Clear's hand batted the knife block at she fell; Clear hit the kitchen floor with a thud, landing on her back. Clear didn't have time to blink before one of the long bladed knifes fell from the knife block. The knife block had been knocked forward by Clear when she fell show the handles were dangling over the counter's edge, threatening to fall as well.   
The blade of the knife fell and pierced Clear's side. Clear screamed with pain as the blade dug into her skin; her eyes clouded with tears and her head became foggy with pain.   
Clear, however, was still able to realize that she was in big trouble. The fire that had ignited from the oven had exploded the vodka bottle, catching everything within its reach aflame. Some of the vodka had fallen onto the floor, bringing flames along with it. Some of the flames were so close to Clear that she could feel their heat.   
Clear looked up to see the other eight knifes in the knife block dangling right above her. She was afraid to move, for fear of knocking the other knifes onto her. Clear attempted to inch away slowly but the knife dug into her side, which made breathing painful, almost impossible. Clear tried to push herself backward with her foot but her foot hit the counter and another long bladed knife fell toward her, impaling her shoulder.   
Clear let out another cry of pain and gave up on moving. The fire had spread, catching things outside of the kitchen on fire. The couch was being to catch aflame, as were the drapes. Clear let out a slow cry as she realized that she would never be able to cheat her way out of the predicament she was in now.   
  
Annabel raced down the sidewalk, her heart banging inside her chest; feeling like it was about to explode. She had to get to the cabin before anything happened to Clear.   
As Annabel tore around a corner, she ran right into someone. Prefect timing, Annabel thought, as she fell backward.   
"Annabel?" The person she ran into said.   
Annabel looked up to see that the 'person' she had run into was Nicolas. "Nicolas, where's Clear?" Annabel asked as she hurried to her feet.   
Nicolas did the same. "At the cabin, why? I was just coming to find you." Nicolas said.   
"We have to hurry! Now!" Annabel commanded and began running again. Without asking questions, Nicolas fell in step behind her, heading toward the cabin. 


	36. Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Six   
  
  
  
As the cabin came into view, Annabel knew something was wrong. Upon looking closer, it was easy to see why someone would know something was wrong. Fire could clearly be seen through the windows, the drapes were on fire and so was one of the walls.   
"Clear's in there." Annabel whispered and without a second thought ran up the rickety steps to the sheet covering the door.   
Nicolas followed her, knocking the sheet away from the door and into a growing wall of fire that had engulfed the couch. Nicolas looked around for a second but could see Annabel through the smoke. Then he saw her in what was left of the kitchen.   
Annabel knelt by Clear's body; Clear looked up at Annabel with pleading eyes but couldn't bring herself to talk.   
"Hang on Clear." Annabel said and coughed as she choked on smoke. Annabel began slowly lifting Clear up, despite the girl's pained cries caused by the movement.   
Annabel realized that she wasn't going to be able to get herself and Clear out of the house by herself. Almost on cue, Nicolas appeared on Clear's other side, helping Annabel lift her. Nicolas was careful of Clear's knife wound -still complete with knife- as he helped Annabel lift Clear into a standing position.   
Slowly but quickly in the same sense, Annabel and Nicolas ushered Clear out of the burning house. When they were on the front steps, the house exploded. The explosion sent the three roughly to the ground. Annabel did a summersault and landed on her back in the cool grass. Clear and Nicolas landed close to her, dazed but alive.   
Annabel stared at what was left of the house, her breathing fast and heart pounding. With a sigh of what could be considered triumph, Annabel laid her head on the cool grass and shut her eyes. She had saved Clear, like she had saved Nicolas. For a moment, all was well. 


	37. Epilogue

Epilogue  
A Month Later  
  
  
  
  
The sun was settling, hues of pink and blue washed down upon the sparkling surface of the crystal clear lake. Annabel sat with Nicolas and Clear at a river side restaurant, enjoying the feel of the night. For a month, Annabel and Nicolas had been living with Alex's parents -as well as Clear-, recovering from all that had happened. Annabel decided that she didn't want to return to Pasadena and had gotten the "okay" to say with her aunt and uncle for as long as she wanted. Nicolas had also decided to stay with Annabel, due to the fact that they had started dating a few weeks ago. Clear, having nowhere else to go, had also moved in with the Brownings, who were happy to have them because they filled up the empty house.   
As the moon began to appear in the sky, Annabel thought back to a month ago when she had seen the clear moon and the red sunset. That day could have ended in disaster but luckily it didn't.   
Thinking back to that day stirred an unanswered question in Annabel's mind. She turned to face Clear, who was staring at the sky.   
"Clear, are we safe? I mean, all of us, from Death?" Annabel asked, still attempted to put the pieces together. She had intervened to save Nicolas and then Clear but so far nothing had happened to her. It was almost as though Death had skipped her but Annabel knew better.   
"I think so, since nothing has happened in so long. I think we're all safe." Clear answered.   
Annabel wanted to accept Clear's answer but she couldn't. Deep in the back of her mind, a vision was forming and it showed a bleak future for all of them. Including herself. 


End file.
